Library of Congress. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Chap 

Shelf. 



V 



POWER 



FOR 



WITNESSING 



** But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost 
is come upon you? and ye shall be My 
witnesses , » . unto the utter- 
most parts of the earth." 
Acts J: 8, R. V. 



PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING COMPANY 
Oakland, California 
New York :: :: t: Kansas City 





63143 



ji-ibs^-y of Con crree e 
pl£l tmU RECEDED 

OCT 19 1900 

Copyright entry 



j ocmd copy. 

Oliver*** to 

j QfS&fcH DIVISION, 



Loci. 



3a7 



Entered According to Act of Congress in the Year 1900 by 
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING COMPANY 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C. 
All Rights Reserved 



I 



PREFACE 



If the reader is, like the Athenians of Paul's day, 
searching for "some new thing" in the form of a "new 
doctrine," this little book will doubtless disappoint him, 
for it is put forth more as a teacher of diligent doing 
than as a discussion of doubtful doctrine. 

He will have no difficulty in knowing the doctrine, who 
is willing to do the doctrine. "If any man willeth to do 
His will he shall know of the teaching." John 7:17, 
R. V. 

Since the book is more an exhortation to doing than 
an exposition of doctrine, no apology is offered for the 
style adopted of personally addressing the reader. The 
writer but describes two phases of his experience in say- 
ing that he who is ashamed of his hope will find per- 
sonal work embarrassing, and will find it more to his 
liking to deal in "glittering generalities;" while he 
whose "hope maketh not ashamed" will be constrained 
to urge it upon others by personal appeals. 

The message of the book is the Spirit's answer to the 
writer's heart-cries for power for Christian living and 
labor. And from direct contact with people in evangel- 
istic work in nearly every state and territory in the 
United States, he has learned that his heart's cry was 
but one in a chorus of cries which will be heard from 
honest hearts in every land by Him whose life and lips 
proclaim the answer. 



(3) 



4 



PREFACE 



The only excuse for devoting so much space to "first 
principles'' is that there is so much space for them in the 
experience of the people. It makes no difference how 
tall or how talented men and women are, or how long 
they have preached or professed, if they "have need of 
milk and not of strong meat," milk they must take until 
they are stronger; and neither the one who ministers 
the milk nor the one to whom it is measured, should 
attempt to avoid the necessity of nursing. 

It is the plan of God that ministers as well as others 
shall "grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth." 
And as one grows it is difficult to hold back that last 
deep soul-stirring truth, and continue to minister bottles 
of milk to babes in Christ. But it must be done. If it 
is not done the minister with the stronger meat may find 
himself marveling at the multitude which follows the 
man who ministers the milk. 

This book is for the common people. When it falls 
into the hands of one whose experience is broader than 
the book, let it be handed to some more needy soul. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 



I. The Preparation 7 

II. Something to Tei^t 9 

III. " Forgiveness of Sins " 12 

IV. Ye Are My Witnesses 16 

V. Personal Experience in Receiving Repent- 
ance and Forgiveness of Sins 21 

VI. The Spirit Calls for Confession 26 

VII. The Spirit Calls for Restitution 30 

VIII. Righteousness, Then Power 34 

IX. "Sin No More" t . . 39 

X. Speedy Deliverance 44 

XI. Personal Experience in Receiving Keeping 

Power 52 

XII. Humility, Then Glory 58 

XIII. The Spirit in Sanctification 63 

XIV. The Holy Spirit and the Unpardonable Sin . 68 
XV. Secret of Rejoicing in Tribulation 70 

XVI. Another Reason for Rejoicing in Tribulation . 76 

XVII. First a Holy Church, Then the Holy Ghost . 79 

XVIII. A Spirit-filled Member Possible before a 

Spirit-filled Church 82 

XIX. Miracles and the Sin against the Holy Ghost . 84 
XX. Filling and Feeling 86 

(5) 



6 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

XXI. The Spirit Calls for Consecration .... 90 

XXII. "The Promise of the Spirit" 93 

XXIII. How to Find Faith 98 

XXIV. The Holy Ghost the Vicegerent of Christ ioi 
XXV. The Holy Ghost a Gift no 

XXVI. Praying for the Spirit 112 

XXVII. The Laying on of Hands 114 

XXVIII. " Believe That Ye Receive" 117 

XXIX. Faith Illustrated . 122 

XXX. Personal Experience in Receiving . . . .126 

XXXI. Personal Experience in Witnessing . . . .129 

XXXII. The Fruit before the Gifts 137 

XXXIII. How to Seek Spiritual Gifts 140 

XXXIV. Miracles of Healing 144 

XXXV. The Gifts of the Spirit Withheld .... 150 

XXXVI. The Gifts of Healing and God's Reputation 155 

XXXVII. Confirming Signs 160 

XXXVIII. The Sword of the Spirit 164 

XXXIX. " Why Marvel Ye at This? " 170 

XL. Miracles of Healing and Health Reform. 

Salvation for the Body 176 

XLI. Lying Wonders 180 

XLII. Deceiving and Being Deceived 186 

XLIII. How Apostles and Prophets Are Chosen . 193 

XLIV. What Is the Outlook? 196 



Power for Witnessing 



i 

THE PREPARATION 

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto 
Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, 
and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1 : 8. 

Reader, have you received this power for witnessing? 
If not, are you seeking this power? Have you sought, 
but sought in vain? Are you really anxious to receive 
the Holy Ghost and thereby become a powerful witness 
for Christ? 

What do you know that you are so anxious to receive 
power to tell? Do you know that God through Christ 
forgives sins? Do you know it from personal experi- 
ence? Are you prepared right now to witness to this 
truth in your home, in your neighbors' homes, or in the 
church? If not you need something to tell more than 
power to tell it. 

Multitudes of men and women are burdened with the 
guilt of sin. Their lives hold no hope. Many in de- 
spair are committing suicide. God wants the great 
sinning world to hear of His willingness to forgive, "to 
give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heavi- 
ness." He wants you to witness that He does all this. 
Are you prepared to do it? Do you know that He 
does it? 



8 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



A witness tells only what he knows. Do you become 
impatient when sorely tempted? If so, do you want 
power to tell this "to the uttermost parts of the earth"? 
Are you proud, or envious, or jealous, or selfish, or 
ambitious, or quarrelsome, or faultfinding? Are you 
given to evil surmising or evil speaking? Do you love 
the world? Do you love worldly pleasures? Are you 
a slave to appetite or lust? Do you think unclean 
thoughts? Do you love this world's goods? Are you 
covetous? Are you given to jesting or foolish talking? 
Are you headstrong or self-willed? Jesus Christ is the 
power of God unto salvation from all these things. Do 
you know Him as such? If not, what have you to tell 
which makes you so anxious that God should give you 
power to tell it? 

Don't you think that you have power enough already 
to publish your weaknesses to the world? If the Lord 
should give you the power of the Holy Ghost for wit- 
nessing while you know so little of His power to save, 
you would become a powerful witness against Him. 
Power would bring you into prominence. And just in 
proportion as you were brought into prominence, just 
in that proportion would that enslaving, besetting sin of 
yours be brought into prominence; and just in that same 
proportion would you become a powerful false witness, 
bearing testimony against Christ and His promise "to 
save to the uttermost/' 

The Lord gave Solomon great power when he was 
humble; and Solomon became a witness for God unto 
the uttermost parts of the earth. "And all the earth 
sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had 
put in his heart." i Kings 10:24. But when Solomon 
sinned, all the earth heard of his sin, and he became the 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 9 

most powerful witness in "all the earth" against the 
Lord. There were many other idolaters in Israel in the 
time of Solomon, but their power for evil did not com- 
pare with that of Solomon. Should the Lord baptize 
you with power from on high while your character is 
weak at any point, it would simply result in advertising 
that weakness to the world. 

The Holy Ghost came upon the disciples on the day 
of Pentecost, not to persuade them to put away their 
self-seeking and their differences— this the Spirit had 
already accomplished in them. Peter did not spend the 
pentecostal morning in confessing his denial of Christ, 
his lying, and his profanity. This work of repentance 
the Spirit had already accomplished in Peter. The very 
first thing that Peter did after the witnessing power 
came upon him, was to begin witnessing to what he 
already knew of the power of God. 

Therefore it is plain that no one can share in the "lat- 
ter rain," or the fulness of the power of the Holy Ghost 
for witnessing, until he knows in his own life, not only 
that God forgives sins, but that He gives the victory over 
every besetting sin. Fulness of victory, then fulness 
of witnessing power. Something to tell, then power to 
tell it. 



II 

SOMETHING TO TELL 

"What shall we do?" said the multitude on the day of 
Pentecost. "Repent," said Peter. If Peter had not 
himself repented, he could not have witnessed to the 
necessity of repentance. He who would be a witness 
that God gives forgiveness of sins, and the Holy Ghost, 



10 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



must first be a witness that God gives repentance. If he 
is weak in his repentance he will be weak in all his wit- 
nessing. For tfiis cause many are weak and sickly 
among us. It is humbling to repent, and many try to 
escape this humbling as much as possible, not knowing 
that in so doing they are refusing the necessary quali- 
fications for witnessing in power. 

That the reader may be impressed with the fact that 
an experience necessary to witnessing to repentance, 
must precede witnessing to both forgiveness of sins and 
the gift of the Holy Spirit, let the following scripture be 
noted carefully: — 

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye 
slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with 
His right hand ... to give repentance to Israel, and 
forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these 
things" 

Thus the apostles declare that they are witnesses that 
God gives repentance. Reader, are you a witness that 
God gives repentance? This experience lies at the 
foundation of all witnessing. Are you prepared to tell 
in your own home, and in your neighbors' homes, and 
before the assembled congregation, that God gives re- 
pentance? If you are not, then the first thing to do is 
to repent. If you will but receive repentance and for- 
giveness of sins, you may receive the Holy Ghost to en- 
able you to witness in power to what you have received. 
For the Holy Ghost is given to bear witness that your 
witness is true. 

Notice the way the Scripture reads: "Him hath God 
exalted with His right hand ... to give repentance 
to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His 
witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



11 



whom God hath given to them that obey Him/' The 
Lord, therefore, gives the Holy Ghost to them that obey 
Him, that He may unite His witness with theirs that 
God gives repentance and forgiveness of sins through 
Jesus Christ. 

Of what shall we repent? — Repent of sin. What is 
sin? — "Sin is the transgression of the law." Your re- 
pentance will be measured according to the measure of 
your sin, and your sin will appear exceeding sinful only 
as the Holy Spirit shall flash the light of the spiritual 
law upon your life. 

"That sin by the commandment might become ex- 
ceeding sinful." Rom. 7:13. "I had not known sin, 
but by the law T ; for I had not known coveting [R. V.] 
except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. " Rom. 
7:7. "The law entered, that the offense might abound. 
But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." 
Rom. 5:20. 

There will be no exceeding, abundant receiving of 
repentance and forgiveness of sins and of the gift of the 
Holy Ghost where there is not a magnifying of the law 
whereby sin is made to "abound" in the life and to 
"appear exceeding sinful." 

But all this the Lord has pledged Himself to do. 
The work of the Holy Ghost is to "convince the world 
of sin," and He can be depended on to do His work. 
The Lord through His Spirit is giving repentance. 
But have you received it and repented? "Only ac- 
knowledge thy transgressions," — those sins which you 
know to be sins, — the Lord will see to it that your repent- 
ance is complete. It is useless for the Lord to reveal 
additional sins while ycu are refusing to acknowledge 
and turn from those already revealed. 



12 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



Some persons complain of a lack of conviction, but if 
they would respond to what conviction the Lord has 
already given, they would receive conviction of sin as 
fast as they were able to bear it. The Lord "lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world." "Walk while 
ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." Walk 
in the light, and ye shall have fellowship one with an- 
other, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all 
sin. 



Ill 

"FORGIVENESS OF SINS" 

Forgiveness of sins, like repentance, is something 
which the Lord gives, and which we must receive. 
"Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a 
Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, 
and forgiveness of sins." 

Before any one can receive the witnessing power from 
on high, he must be able to witness to the gospel truth 
that God forgives sins. But no one can witness to this 
truth unless this truth is truth in his life at the time of 
witnessing. The Holy Spirit will not furnish power to 
make a man's witness convincing when the fruit of the 
man's life gives the lie to the fruit of his lips. If the 
witness is not living in the knowledge and enjoyment 
of sins forgiven when he is trying to tell others to re- 
ceive forgiveness, the Holy Ghost will not bear witness 
to his testimony, because the witness is not himself 
qualified to bear witness. And this is the reason why 
so many who occupy the witness stand, in the pulpit and 
in the pews, are so weak in their witnessing. They do 
not speak as those having authority, but as the scribes. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



13 



If they actually witnessed to the truth, they would have 
to tell that they were still living under the condemnation 
of sin. 

But why will men live under continual condemna- 
tion when the Lord is so anxious to give them forgive- 
ness of sins? 

Substantially the following conversation took place 
in the home of a middle-aged woman, where the writer 
had been invited to help her find the Lord: — 

Woman — I want to know that my sins are forgiven. 

Minister — Have you confessed your sins? 

W. — Yes, hundreds of times. 

M. — Are you a professing Christian? 

W. — Yes, I have been a member of the church for 
forty years. 

M. — And never knew that your sins were forgiven? 
W. — Never. 

M. — Let us kneel down here and ask God once more 
to forgive, and let us pray in faith. 

We knelt and prayed. Her prayer was earnest, her 
confession heartfelt. When we arose the conversation 
was continued thus : — 

Minister — I am glad that the Lord has forgiven your 
sins. 

Woman — I hope He has. 

M. — But do you not know that He has? Have you 
not confessed your sins? 
W.— Yes. 

M. — And does not the Lord promise that if we con- 
fess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our 
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness? 

W.— Yes. 

M. — And you have confessed your sins? 



14 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



W.—Yes. 

M. — Then, according to the word of the Lord, you 
are forgiven, are you not? 

W . — That is just what I have been wanting to say for 
forty years. 

M. — Don't you believe the Bible? 

W. — Yes, certainly. 

M. — Well, does not the Bible say that if we confess 
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins? 
W.—Yes. 

M. — Do you believe that Scripture? 
W.— Yes. 

M. — Have you confessed your sins? 
W. — Yes, over and over again. 

M. — Then, according to the word of the Lord, you 
are forgiven, aren't you? 

W. — That is just what I am afraid to say. 

M. — But does not the Lord say that if we confess our 
sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins? 

W. — That is what He says. 

M. — What do you say? Dare you say that what He 
says is not so? Dare you say that you are not forgiven? 
W. — No, I dare not say that. 

M. — And you are afraid to say that you are forgiven? 
And you have lived in that state of mind for forty years? 
W.— Yes. 

M. — Are you sure you have confessed all your sins? 
W. — I have confessed all I know. 
M. — Would you confess another sin if it was shown 
you? 

W. — Most certainly. 

M. — But do you not know that your refusal to believe 
God is sin? The Word says, "He that believeth not 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



15 



God hath made Him a liar" (i John 5:10). Now stop 
calling God a liar, and believe that He forgives your sins. 
Let me help you over this Rubicon before which you 
have been standing in doubt for forty years. Say with 
me, "The Lord has forgiven my sins." 

W. — The Lord has — I am afraid. 

M. — Let us start again. The Lord has for- 

W. — I am afraid. 

M . — But you must believe God or perish. Let us back 
up and start in again. The Lord has forgiven — 

W. — I can't go any farther, let us pray. 

And again we prayed, and prayed earnestly for deliv- 
erance from sin and unbelief, for the case was a des- 
perate one. Again we arose from prayer. And again I 
repeated the words in concert with her, and this time 
she followed me through, and then broke out in tears 
of joy over sins forgiven, a joy that she might have ex- 
perienced forty years before, but for unbelief. 

One has put it thus plainly and simply: — 

"You can not atone for your past sins, you can not 
change your heart, and make yourself holy. But God 
promises to do all this for you through Christ. You 
believe that promise. You confess your sins, and give 
yourself to God. You will to serve Him. Just as surely 
as you do this, God will fulfil His word to you. If you 
believe the promise, — believe that you are forgiven and 
cleansed, — God supplies the fact; you are made whole, 
just as Christ gave the paralytic power to walk when the 
man believed that he was healed. It is so if you believe. 

"Do not wait to feel that you are made whole, but say, 
T believe it; it is so, not because I feel it, but because 
God has promised/ " 



16 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



IV 

YE ARE MY WITNESSES 

After the devil had been cast out of the dweller among 
the tombs, he wanted to get into the boat and accom- 
pany his great Deliverer, but the Master said to him, 
"Return to thine own house, and show how great things 
God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and 
published throughout the whole city how great things 
Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass, that, 
when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received Him; 
for they were all waiting for Him. Christ was leaving 
the neighborhood because the people asked Him to leave. 
However, He left behind Him a living witness of His 
power and compassion. He knew the people would hear 
this man, because they had known him before he was 
delivered, and could see how great things the Lord had 
done for him. He would prepare the way for the people 
to receive the Lord when He returned. 

God has planned to save sinful men by the testimony of 
their fellow-men. He has planned it this way because it 
is the best way. One reason for this is stated by another, 
thus: — 

"Many are perplexed with doubt, burdened with in- 
firmities, weak in faith, and unable to grasp the unseen; 
but a friend whom they can see, coming to them in 
Christ's stead, can be a connecting link to fasten their 
trembling faith upon God." 

The reason why the class or testimony meeting is 
often so poorly attended is that there are so few who have 
an experience worth telling. This is also the reason 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



17 



why so many complain of their embarrassment when 
called upon to witness for Christ. 

"How many potatoes did you raise this year?" asks 
one farmer of another. "None to speak of," is the 
reply. He does not speak of his potato crop because 
he has none to speak of. And this is the reason why 
many do not speak of their experience; they have no 
experience to speak of. 

Reader, if you do not have an experience to speak of, 
get one. If you already have an experience worth 
speaking of, then speak of it. "Ye are My witnesses, 
saith the Lord." Speak of it first in "thine own house" 
and then to your neighbors. God wants to use your 
testimony to save them. Your testimony will reach 
sinners when the Bible will not. "Likewise, ye wives, 
be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey 
not the Word, they also may without the Word be won by 
the conversation of the wives; while they behold your 
chaste conversation coupled with fear." i Peter 3:1, 2. 

"Ye are the light of the world," says Christ. It is 
not the written Word that is the light of the world, be- 
cause the world does not accept it. It is the Word made 
flesh that is the light of the world. Of Christ, who was 
the Word made flesh, it is written, "The life was the light 
of men." The written Word is a light to the Christian, 
but the Word made flesh is the light of the unbelieving 
world. It is the testimony of one in whom the Word is 
made flesh, that the Spirit confirms with power for the 
conversion of sinners. One has stated this truth thus 
forcibly :— 

"After healing the woman, Jesus desired her to ac- 
knowledge the blessing she had received. The gifts 
which the gospel offers are not to be secured by stealth 

2 



18 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



or enjoyed in secret. So the Lord calls upon us for 
confession of His goodness. 'Ye are My witnesses, 
saith the Lord, that I am God.' 

"If we have been following Jesus step by step, we shall 
have something right to the point to tell concerning the 
way which He has led us. We can tell how we have 
tested His promises, and found the promises true. We 
can bear witness to what we have known of the grace of 
Christ. This is the witness for which our Lord calls, for 
w T ant of which the world is perishing. 

"Our confession of His goodness is Heaven's chosen 
agency for revealing Christ to the world. We are to 
acknowledge His grace as made known through the 
holy men of old, but that which will be most effectual 
is the testimony of our own experience. . . . These 
precious acknowledgments to the praise and glory of 
His grace, when supported by a Christlike life, have an 
irresistible power for the salvation of souls. " 

The reason, dear reader, why your testimony will be 
"more effectual" than the written testimony of the holy 
men of old, is because these holy men are dead and you 
are cfe<? ; and God's plan for reaching an unbelieving 
world is through the testimony of living witnesses. The 
holy men of God lived and witnessed in their day, and 
the record of their lives is a light to the believer, but the 
unbeliever must have the life-light of a living witness- — 
the witness of the Word made flesh. 

Reader, can you not see the value and importance of 
witnessing for Christ? It is your testimony which the 
Lord wishes to use to save your family and friends. 
Then tell your experience just as fast as God gives it to 
you. 

Your experience is given you to tell. Tell it in your 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



19 



home and in your neighbors' homes. Tell it in the con- 
gregation. But be sure that it is backed up by a consist- 
ent life. Don't hide that comforting experience in your 
heart and rob the world of its comfort. 

"I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; 
I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation; I 
have not concealed Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth 
from the great congregation." Ps. 40:10. 

He who believes God, he whose heart holds a com- 
forting experience, will declare it. If one refuses to con- 
fess with his mouth, he gives evidence that he does not 
believe with his heart. "Out of the abundance of the 
heart the mouth speaketh." "If thou shalt confess with 
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine 
heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt 
be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto right- 
eousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto 
salvation." Rom. 10:9, 10. 

It is blessed to have a good experience, but it is more 
blessed to give that experience to others. "It is more 
blessed to give than to receive." This I have found to 
be true in my experience. My greatest joy is found in 
giving to a sinning world the experiences which the 
Lord is giving me. 

If there is anything that the devil fears it is the testi- 
mony of a truly converted, Spirit-filled man. It is this 
that overcomes the enemy of truth. "And they over- 
came him with the blood of the Lamb, and by the word 
of their testimony." Rev. 12:11. 

Among those who stood and listened in the rear of a 
congregation of three thousand people was a minister 
who was not victorious in his. life. At first, as he after- 
wards related, he questioned the speaker's confident 



20 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



boasting in the Lord and His power to save, but as the 
witnessing continued, he believed, and said to himself: 
"Brother Ballenger is a man subject to like passions as 
I am. If God can save him, He can save me." At the 
close of the service he sought a secluded spot in the 
grove, and there gave himself to God, and sought and 
found the victory for which his soul hungered. This is 
but one of a multitude of cases where the writer's humble 
witness has been used by the Spirit to lead the listener 
to believe in and receive God's power to save to the ut- 
termost. And this personal experience is related here 
to encourage the reader to bear faithful testimony to 
every experience gained through faith. As you read 
this little work and receive help from the Lord, tell it. 
Tell it in your home; tell it in your neighbor's home; 
tell it at prayer-meeting; and if you have time, write it to 
the author, in care of the publishers. The chief joy of 
the Christian worker, who has turned his back on the 
joys of the world, is to hear of some one whom his words 
have helped to a better life. "Joy shall be in heaven 
over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety 
and nine just persons, which need no repentance." This 
joy of heaven is shared by the earth-accredited ambas- 
sador of heaven. 

"Return to thine own house, and show how great 
things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, 
and published throughout the whole city how 7 great 
things Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass, 
that, when jesus was returned, the people gladly received 
Him; for they were all waiting for Him." 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



21 



V 

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN RECEIVING REPENTANCE 
AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS 

At this point the writer asks of the reader the blessed 
privilege, and it is a blessed privilege, of bearing per- 
sonal witness to the scriptural truth taught in the pre- 
ceding pages. 

I was a backslidden young minister. Through a 
failure to walk in the light I had lost the liberty that 
there is in Christ. I had forgotten that I was purged 
from my old sins. I was a sinner, in need of salvation 
as much as any sinner that ever lived. But still I tried 
to preach. 

Some poor sinning soul may think that this experi- 
ence will not help him, because it begins with the 
experience of a minister, when he is only just a common 
sinner. I was speaking in a mission at one time, and 
made the remark that it was far more difficult for God 
to save a backslidden preacher than to save a drunkard 
or a harlot. 

"I don't want so much talk, I want proof/' cried out 
a man on the front seat, who was slightly intoxicated. 
"Here it is," I replied. "Here is what the Saviour said 
to the preachers of Jerusalem: 'Verily I say unto you, 
That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom 
of God before you. For John came unto you in the 
way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the 
publicans and the harlots believed him; and ye, when ye 
had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might be- 
lieve him/ Matt. 21:31, 32." 



22 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



Yes, it is harder to reach a backslidden preacher than 
a harlot or a publican. Because when a man has 
donned a preacher's coat and cravat, and is engaged in 
the work of calling men to repentance, it is difficult for 
him to humble his heart in repentance. But there is 
only one path out of sin for preachers and publicans, 
and that is the path of repentance. 

Not knowing my spiritual condition, some of my 
brethren in the ministry requested me to go to the help 
of a most needy congregation in a southern state, and 
aid in conducting a series of revival services. I pro- 
tested against going, giving every plausible reason, save 
the real one, which was my spiritual condition. After 
much urging, I consented. 

As the train bore me on to my destination, the start- 
ling position in which I was placed was revealed to me. 
I w r as going to preach repentance to others while I my- 
self was an unrepentant sinner. In my distress of mind 
I found temporary relief in the promise I made, that I 
would never preach another discourse until I knew my 
sins were pardoned. 

Early in the morning after my arrival, I excused my- 
self from partaking of breakfast, and with Bible in hand 
sought a retired spot in an adjacent grove. And there I 
knelt and confessed my sins to God, and read His prom- 
ises. The morning wore away and the hour for service 
— eleven o'clock — was drawing near. Over and over 
again I confessed my sins and asked for pardon in the 
name of Jesus, but saw no sign that I was heard. 

I had come in contact with some who had laid great 
stress on a physical demonstration in conversion, and I, 
too, looked for some such sign. I had heard of some 
who had seen a light, when they were converted, and I 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



23 



looked up to the sun to see if there were not some 
peculiar appearance there, that I could regard as a sign 
that I was heard and forgiven, but there was none. 
Some had said that they had heard a voice saying, "Thy 
sins are forgiven/' I listened for such a voice, but 
heard none. I had also heard some say that they 
had felt a great internal change when they were con- 
verted, so I waited for this sign, but waited in vain. 

It was nearing the hour of service, and I had declared 
that I would never preach again until I was forgiven. 
What should I do? Again I prayed and again I con- 
fessed my sins, but saw no sign of forgiveness. Then 
I turned and read this scripture : "If we confess our sins, 
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." i John 1 19. In 
my despair I said, "I have a mind to just believe that 
promise — just believe I am forgiven — for I have con- 
fessed my sins, and the Lord promises that if I will do 
this, He is faithful to forgive." 

Then the devil grew frightened and suggested doubts 
and fears to my mind in this form: "Look out; if you 
say you are forgiven when you are not, it will be a lie, 
and you have sins enough without adding the sin of 
lying." "But what is a poor man to do?" I thought. 
"What more can I do? I have confessed my sins." 
"But suppose you have forgotten one," suggested the 
tempter; "if you say you are forgiven when you have 
omitted to confess a single sin, it will not be so, and you 
will add the sin of presumption to all the rest of your 
sins." "That is so," I said. "Suppose I have forgotten 
one sin, and have not confessed it, and then claim for* 
giveness, it will be false." 

I was about to despair, when the Lord by His Spirit 



24 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



came to my rescue with this scripture; "Him hath God 
exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a 
Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness 
of sins." Acts 5:31. And then I saw that the Lord 
had given me my repentance and it was my place to 
take the repentance and repent; that it was the Lord's 
work to give repentance, and when I had repented of 
all the sin revealed to me, that I was to have confidence 
that God had attended to His work well, and not charge 
Him with neglect or failure. It was the Lord's business 
to give me repentance, and it was my business to take 
repentance and repent. And it was the Lord's business 
to give me forgiveness of sins, and it was my business 
to take forgiveness of sins and be forgiven. I was will- 
ing to repent of any other sin that the Lord would re- 
veal, and the Lord knew it. I was, therefore, to believe 
that He had been faithful and given me pardon for my 
sins. At this point I said, "Praise the Lord! He has 
forgiven my sins." 

The tempter suggested this doubt, "Well, how do you 
feel? Do you feel any different?" "It is not a ques- 
tion of feeling, but a question of fact," I replied. "The 
Lord says if I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to 
forgive my sins, and I believe that He tells the truth; 
and what is more, I am going up to the congregation 
and tell them what He has done." Again the enemy 
was frightened. "Look out, now," he suggested, "don't 
be a fanatic. Don't act foolish. If the Lord has for- 
given you, the people will find it out without your 
telling them. And besides, what a disgrace on the min- 
istry and the church, for the people to learn that you 
had come to preach to them, and was yourself a sinner." 
"Get thee behind me, Satan," was my reply "It is so, 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



25 



and I am going to give the Lord the glory by telling it 
to the people." 

This I did, and then I had all the feeling that I could 
desire, and so did the congregation, who rejoiced with 
me that I was forgiven. But my feelings, — my peace 
and joy, — came as the fruit of faith, not my faith as a 
fruit of my feelings. 

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace 
in believing." Rom. 15:13. Joy and peace belong to 
those who believe, not to unbelievers. If the Lord 
should give peace and joy before we believed, we would 
be joyful and peaceful unbelievers; but joy and peace 
belong to believers, not to unbelievers. 

This public confession was the beginning of a blessed 
revival. And I am persuaded that there are other 
blessed revivals which only wait for the repentance of 
the pastor. If ministers are to lead the people, they 
must lead them in repentance and confession as truly 
as in other things. "Humble yourselves therefore 
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you 
in due time." 

I wish to emphasize the need of public testimony to 
what the Lord has done. "I have not hid Thy right- 
eousness within my heart; I have declared Thy faithful- 
ness and Thy salvation; I have not concealed Thy 
loving-kindness and Thy truth from the great congre- 
gation." Ps. 40:10. 



26 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



VI 

THE SPIRIT CALLS FOR CONFESSION 

"Confess your faults one to another." Why are we 
called upon to confess our faults one to another? 
It is so mortifying. Mortifying to what? — Mortify- 
ing to the carnal heart. Well, don't you want the 
carnal heart mortified? It is only by mortifying the 
old life that the new life can appear. If there is a pro- 
test in your heart against confessing to your brother 
wherein you have wronged him, or to the church 
wherein you have reason to believe that your faults 
have affected the church or the public, you may depend 
upon it that that protest comes from a carnal heart which 
is fighting for life. Crucify it. Crucify it quickly. It is 
your only hope. It makes no difference who you are, 
whether officer or layman, prominent or obscure, crucify 
that carnal heart. 

I was engaged in revival work in a certain city, and 
scores of people were seeking the forgiveness of sins 
and the blessings of a victorious Spirit-filled life. To 
my great surprise I was convicted by the Spirit of the 
sin of self-esteem. I was loath to believe it, but having 
learned not to argue with the Holy Spirit, I quickly 
surrendered and confessed the sin to God. Then I was 
impressed that I ought to confess it to the congregation, 
but immediately the objection was raised in my mind 
that such a course would hurt my influence with the 
people. But to this I replied that self-esteem can not 
exist in the heart without manifesting itself in the life. 
Some discerning souls have seen it, and the only way to 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



27 



escape being a stumbling-block in their paths is to con- 
fess it, and then they will see that the Spirit has suc- 
ceeded in convincing me of it. 

The next evening, after a short talk on the grace of 
humility and the sin of self-esteem, I confessed my fault 
to the congregation, and the Spirit so witnessed to the 
confession that nearly a hundred people were convicted 
of the same fault and made confession, supplicating with 
me for deliverance. 

There had been in that congregation from night to 
night fathers and mothers in Israel with deep experi- 
ences, who were doubtless pained at the manifestation 
of the subtle pride in the young man, who, when that 
confession was made, praised the Lord that at last the 
Spirit had succeeded in convincing him of the sin, and 
had given strength to confess it and put it away. Con- 
fessing our faults one to another will not hurt our in- 
fluence. "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of 
God, that He may exalt you in due time." 

A young minister came to the writer with this sad 
complaint: "Whenever the Lord blesses me in my min- 
istry, I become exalted over it, and He has to withdraw 
His power. What shall I do?" He was urged to con- 
fess his pride to the Lord, and ask Him to crucify it; 
then claim the crucifixion by faith in the promise of 
God; then go before the congregation and confess His 
pride there, and tell of the victory gained by faith. He 
did so, and obtained the victory. Why, some one will 
ask, must he confess it before the congregation? — Be- 
cause no one was ever proud without the people finding 
it out. And when the people know that a man is proud, 
that man will never gain the confidence of the people 



28 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



until they know that he has discovered his pride and put 
it away, and this they will know when he confesses it. 
If he is too proud to confess his pride, then he has not 
yet gained the victory over his pride. 

That which is true of self-esteem is true also of all 
other faults which are of a public character. There are 
some things of such a character that they should never 
be confessed in public; but there are others which are 
more or less of a public nature that ought to be thus 
confessed. Confessions should be frank. No attempt 
should be made to excuse or palliate the w r rong. 

There was associated with me in a series of meetings 
in the west, a very earnest, conscientious, and capable 
young minister. One night the Spirit convicted many 
in the congregation of wrong-doing, and there followed 
a confessing of faults one to another that brought vic- 
tory to many hearts. This young minister arose and 
began a confession that evidently did not meet the mind 
of the Spirit. Presently he stopped a moment, and 
when he resumed his testimony he said: "Brethren, I 
am convinced that I am trying to let myself down easy. 
I will stop and fall on the rock and be broken;" which he 
immediately did, and the Lord witnessed by His Spirit 
to his whole-hearted confession. 

It w r as at a meeting in the south. A middle-aged 
man, with gray hair and beard, arose in the meeting, and 
with great earnestness said: "I am a liar. I can't tell 
the truth. If I ever told you anything you had better 
investigate it before you believe it." 

There were many in the audience who could have 
said "amen" in confirmation of his statement, but they 
did not do it. Reader, have you not noticed that when 
a man or woman is making an honest confession of 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



29 



wrong-doing, even their worst enemies refrain from re- 
proaching them? 

"But I believe that I shall be able to tell the truth in 
the future, for I am receiving the Spirit of truth," con- 
tinued the man. And there were many "aniens" from 
tender hearts. Everybody seemed to forget that he had 
been a man given to exaggerating nearly everything he 
reported. It mattered not how he had been guilty of 
lying in the past, all had to admit that when he said he 
was a liar, he began to tell the truth. He began to be 
a truthful man when he confessed himself a liar, and he 
began to have a reputation for truth-telling in the com- 
munity at the same time. By his confession he removed 
the reproach from himself and his church, and took his 
stand with the Lord, whose Spirit had convinced him 
of sin. 

Reader, if you are a candidate for the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost, you must confess all your sins to God and 
your faults to your neighbor. All faults are sins; but 
there are sins which lie between the individual and his 
God, and must be confessed to Him alone; and then 
there are sins which involve our fellows which must be 
confessed to them. 

Commence to-day. Commence with your own fam- 
ily. If you are a father or mother you may need to 
commence with one another or with the children. I 
covet, second to the confidence of the Lord, the confi- 
dence of my wife. If I can not go before the people 
believing that she believes I am a Christian, I can not 
go at all. 

My father was called to minister in word and doc- 
trine, but, like Jonah, he sought for a time to close his 
ears to the call and continue on the farm. Not follow- 



30 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



ing his convictions, he found it hard to maintain a vic- 
torious life, and consequently he said and did things at 
times which I could not harmonize with my conceptions 
of Christian living. And sometimes I w T as tempted to 
doubt his being a Christian, but when he came to me 
and said, "Son, I did wrong in that matter and I want 
you to forgive me," my confidence was restored, and I 
went away saying to myself, 'There is no use in deny- 
ing it; my father is a Christian." No parent ever lost 
the respect of the child by the frank acknowledgment of 
wrong-doing which involved the child. "He that cover- 
eth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and 
forsaketh them shall have mercy." 



VII 

THE SPIRIT CALLS FOR RESTITUTION 

A pane of glass one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, 
if placed between the transmitter and receiver, will 
baffle an electric current of sufficient strength to 
operate an entire street-car system. "Behold, the 
Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can not save; 
neither His ear heavy, that it can not hear. But your 
iniquities have separated between you and your God, and 
your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not 
hear." Isa. 59:1, 2. The "all-power-in-heaven-and- 
earth" can not penetrate past a single cherished sin. 

"Put away the evil of your doings from before Mine 
eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, 
relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the 
widow. Come, now, and let us reason together, saith 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



31 



the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be 
as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they 
shall be as wool/' Isa. 1:16-18. 

A young man had come a long distance to attend the 
revival services. "I am glad to be here," he remarked; 
"I have heard of the good work done elsewhere, and it 
is just what the people need; I hope you will give the 
message straight." His face beamed with satisfaction; 
he was interested in seeing the people benefited. 

"I think I had better return home," he remarked to 
me the next day. His face bore a look of despair. 
"You came intending to remain throughout the meet- 
ings," I said, "it seems too bad to come so far and then 
return so soon. I think you had better stay." After a 
little hesitation he said, "I can not stay, I can not endure 
the presence of the Lord." "What is the trouble, my 
brother? Is there any wrong you are cherishing?" 
After a moment's thought he unburdened his Heart 
thus : — 

"Five years ago, my neighbor deliberately turned his 
hogs into my corn field. It angered me, and, taking 
down my shotgun, I hurried out and shot one of them 
and tried to shoot more. When that hog died, I died. 
I have had no spirituality since; and this is no place for 
a man like me." 

"Yes, it is," I replied, "if you will pay for the hog and 
make a confession to the owner." 

The value of the hog, with interest, was counted out, 
and then he said, "Ask the Lord to help me write a 
letter of confession, and I w T ill send the money to-night." 
The letter was written, the money inclosed and mailed. 
Sin, the non-conductor, was removed, and the electric 
current of the Comforter thrilled his heart with a peace 



32 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



and joy that shone out in his face and was voiced in his 
public testimony. 

The Spirit of God will not compromise with sin. He 
came to convince of sin, not to condone it. 4 'Thou 
shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people 
from their sins." Matt. 1:21. 

Scores remained to the after-meeting, and as a result 
of personal work involving hard-fought, hand-to-hand 
battles with doubt and discouragement, nearly all found 
peace and joy in believing. 

One remained still in unbelief. Our prayers seemed 
to avail nothing. We were still kneeling and silently 
waiting. Presently he whispered, "I would like to see 
you alone." A private interview revealed the fact that 
some years before he had been urged to prepare for 
active Christian work, and had received through the 
mail a check which, while its source was not indicated, 
he had reasons to know, and to know that it was sent 
for the purpose of helping him prepare for the ministry. 
This he had used for other purposes. 

I exhorted him to restore the money. He replied 
that it was an impossibility at present. 

"Is it in your heart to do it?" I asked, and he an- 
swered, "Yes, just as soon as I can raise it." "Will you 
show your faith by your works, and draw up a note and 
send it to the party with a confession of your wrong?" 
I continued. "Yes," was the reply. There was a mo- 
ment of silence, and then, with a cry of joy, he threw his 
arms around me and we rejoiced together. That sin 
had acted as a non-conductor to the incoming of the 
Spirit with His message of pardon and peace. All our 
prayers were unavailing to bring the pardon until the 
sin was put away. Not until he had decided to restore 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



33 



that which he had misappropriated, could he exercise 
faith for forgiveness. The work of restitution lies 
between many a soul and the comfort of the Holy Ghost. 

"What shall I do?" said an earnest inquirer. "When 
a young man I robbed my employer in small sums to 
the amount of about a hundred dollars. I have the 
money to restore, but I can not find the merchant. I 
am afraid he is dead." I replied: "If the wronged one 
is dead, restore the money to his heirs. If there are no 
heirs, or they can not be found, give it to the Lord. 
This is the teaching of the Word." This he did, and 
peace came. 

There is another sin that is especially declared to be 
in the way of the pouring out of the overflowing bless- 
ing. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. 
But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes 
and offerings. " "Bring ye all the tithes into the store- 
house, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove 
Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not 
open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a 
blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive 
it." Mai. 3:8, 10. 

Covetousness is the sin above all others that is keep- 
ing the power of God from many to-day. There is a 
growing desire to receive all that the church received in 
the early days of the pouring out of the Spirit. He who 
would approach the receiving of those days, must ap- 
proach the giving of those days. 

Faith bars the door to sin, and sin bars the door to 
faith. "If our heart condemn us not, then have we con- 
fidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we re- 
ceive of Him, because we keep His commandments, 
and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." 
1 John 3:21, 22. 
3 



34 



POWER FOR WITNESSING, 



Many wonder why they can not exercise faith, when 
the simple reason is the presence of the non-conductor, 
sin, which in the plan of God can not be passed by until 
it is put away. Faith will come like the energizing elec- 
tric current when there shall be a hearing of the Word, 
free from the clogging presence of cherished sin. 



VIII 

RIGHTEOUSNESS, THEN POWER 

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is 
every one that hangeth on a tree; that the blessing of 
Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus 
Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit 
through faith/' Gal. 3:13, 14. 

"The promise of the Spirit" is the promise of the bap- 
tism of the Holy Spirit in its pentecostal power. Just 
before His ascension Christ commanded His disciples 
"that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait 
for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have 
heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but 
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days 
hence. ... Ye shall receive power, after that the 
Holy Ghost is come upon you." This promised bap- 
tism of power can not be received by any one who has 
not received the blessing of Abraham. For "the bless- 
ing of Abraham" is received "that we might receive the 
promise of the Spirit." 

That the expression "the promise of the Spirit" is 
used by inspiration to mean the promise of God to give 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



35 



the Spirit, is very plain from Acts 2:33: "Therefore 
being by the right hand of God exalted^ and having 
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, 
He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." 
The expression "the promise of the Spirit/' as used by 
Paul in Gal. 3:14, is identical with Peter's expression in 
Acts 2:33, "the promise of the Holy Ghost," which latter 
expression unmistakably points to the promise of God to 
give the Spirit. 

Though the receiving of the inheritance by faith is the 
theme of the chapter, it is perfectly consistent to under- 
stand the expression "the promise of the Spirit 1 as con- 
veying the promise of God to give the Spirit, since the 
gift of the Spirit is an earnest, or first payment, on the 
inheritance. "After that ye believed, ye were sealed 
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of 
our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased 
possession." Eph. 1:13, 14. 

Reader, have you received the "blessing of Abraham"? 
It is useless to pray for the baptism of the Holy Spirit 
until you have. Do you know what the blessing of 
Abraham is? You may know, and know as quickly as 
Abraham knew, if you will do as Abraham did. Let us 
now go in search of the blessing of Abraham. The 
blessing of Abraham is the blessing of righteousness, 
which God gave Abraham because he believed God 
when Pie spoke to him. Let us see that this is so. It 
is written (Gal. 3:6), "Abraham believed God, and it was 
accounted to him for righteousness." And again (verse 
9), "So then they which be of faith [they that believe 
God] are blessed with faithful Abraham." Blessed with 
what? — Blessed with what Abraham was blessed with, — 
blessed with righteousness. The blessing of Abraham, 



36 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



therefore, is the blessing of righteousness, which the 
Lord gave to Abraham when He told Abraham He 
would do something for him that seemed impossible, 
and Abraham believed God could and would do it. 
Gem 15:6. 

Now that you know what the blessing of Abraham is 
for Abraham, God wants you to share in that blessing, to 
"be blessed with faithful Abraham," in order that you 
"may receive the promise of the Spirit/' 

Paul, in Rom. 4:1-11, again shows that the blessing 
of Abraham is the righteousness with which God blessed 
Abraham when he believed what God said. Then the 
apostle makes a personal application of this truth thus: 
"He staggered not at the promise of God through un- 
belief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and 
being fully persuaded that what He promised, He was 
able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to 
him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his 
sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, 
to whom it shall be imputed, if zve believe on Him that 
raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was de- 
livered for our offenses, and was raised again for our 
justification." Rom. 4:20-25. 

"If we believe" "They which be of faith [they that 
believe] are blessed with faithful Abraham." Believe 
what? — Believe that God justifies [makes righteous] the 
ungodly or unrighteous. 

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him 
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for right- 
eousness. " Rom. 4:5. Are you unrighteous, or un- 
godly? God says He will justify you, make you right- 
eous, if you will ask Him to do it and believe that He 
does it. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



37 



"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe 
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them/' Mark 
11:24. Ask for the blessing of Abraham; ask God to 
forgive all the sins you ever committed from the day 
you knew the difference between right and wrong until 
this moment. Ask Him to give you the righteousness 
He has promised to give to the unrighteous. Then be- 
lieve that you have received that righteousness. "For 
every one that asketh receiveth." Luke 11:10. 

"But," says some one, "if the blessing of Abraham is 
righteousness by faith, then I have always believed in 
that; for I have always believed in righteousness by 
faith." Good, if it is true. But if you have received 
righteousness by faith, you have stopped sinning. 
Righteousness by faith not only justifies you from your 
past sins, but saves you from falling into those same 
sins again. It is both a cure and preventive. 

I am passing by my neighbor's house. He is in the 
cow-yard milking. The cow kicks the milk over. The 
neighbor kicks the cow; then he seizes the stool and 
chases the cow around the yard. As he has the advan- 
tage in the inside track, he gets near enough to the cow 
to hurl the stool at her with telling effect. As my 
neighbor in his chase comes near the_ fence on which I 
am leaning, I speak thus: "Neighbor, have you accepted 
the message on righteousness by faith?" 

He replies: "I always believed in righteousness by 
faith; never believed anything else. And I think it is a 
disgrace to even suggest that we need a special message 
on this subject. What will our neighbors of the other 
churches think of us if they hear it? But what made 
you ask me if / believed in righteousness by faith?" 

"Because when a man believes in righteousness by 
faith, he will not get angry and club his cow." 



38 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



Reader, have you accepted righteousness by faith? — 
not the theory that men are made righteous by faith, but 
has it become a tact in your life? "Faith without works 
is dead.'"' Do you still get out of patience in your home, 
at your work, with your brethren, with your neighbors, 
with your stock? Do you yield to the lusts of the 
flesh, to the lusts of the eye? Do you love the world, 
its goods, or its pleasures? Do you love the pre- 
eminence? The precious truth that men are made 
righteous and kept righteous by faith, is given you to 
give you the victory over all your besetting sins. Then 
you will have received the blessing of Abraham, and 
can pray for the promise of the Spirit to make you a 
powerful witness for the truth. "Ask, and ye shall re- 
ceive/' 



The following testimonies confirming the above truth 
have been received by letter: — 

"I wish to say the Lord gave me a precious wife; but 
since you left, I have a new one. A marked change has 
come to her. She is so patient. She has had a good test 
in moving. I hope she can see as great a change in me" 



"When you were here, you spoke of having a new 
reputation in your father's family. Oh, how I wished 
I could say the same, as my father and I had trouble 
more than four years ago, and we were as far from a 
reconciliation as when the trouble first came up! You 
remember I spoke of writing some letters of confession, 
one of which was to my father. He responded, saying 
he freely forgave all, and that he would come to see me. 
True to his promise, he did come, although he had to 
travel four hundred miles. Thank the Lord, I now have 
a 'new reputation' with my father and all the family." 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



39 



"Praise the Lord for victory; and for His keeping 
power! It is blessed to take God at His word; He is 
true. I can say to any who do not know the Lord, and 
to those who know Him but have not the victory over 
every besetting sin, Believe, have complete victory, and 
go on your way rejoicing." 



IX 

44 SIN NO MORE " 

"Well," says some one, "if these are the qualifications 
necessary for receiving the Holy Ghost, I am afraid it 
will be a long time before I receive the witnessing power. 
I have been struggling for years to overcome my beset- 
ting sins, and if I get on no faster in the future, it will be 
years before I receive that power, if I ever do." But 
you can get on faster. You have been trying to gain tKe 
victory by the long-time process of evolution. Give up 
the theory of evolution, and accept the Bible doctrine of 
creation. "He spake, and it was done; He commanded, 
and it stood fast." Let Him speak to you, and have it 
done, and done so that it will stand fast. Once Christ 
spoke to a man and said, "Sin no more, lest a worse 
thing come unto thee." He did not say, "Taper off by 
the process of evolution through a long series of years, 
lest a w^orse thing come unto thee," but, "Sin no more." 
He speaks the same words to you; and He wants you to 
believe His word, and thereby be miraculously delivered 
from your sinning. Did you think it was necessary for 
you to taper off, or sin a little, in order to keep you 
from becoming exalted? Did you think you would 
have to fall into that same old sin occasionally, in order 



■40 



. :. r FOR VFITXESSIXG. 



that you might receive the grace of forgiveness' "Shall 
we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God for- 
bid. Hew snail we. that are dead to sin, live any longer 
therein?" Rom. 6:1. 2. "Reckon ye also yourselves 
to be dead indeed unto sin. but alive unto God through 
Tesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in 
your mental body, that ye should obey it in the lusts 
thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments 
of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto 
God. as these that are alive from the dead, and your 
members as instruments or righteousness unto God. 
For sin shall not have dominion over you." Rom. 
6:1. 2. 11-14. 

Reader, stop right here and in faith ask God to break 
the dominion of sin over you. You can get the victory 
over every sin of which the Spirit has convinced you. in 



just the time it takes you to believe that God tells the 
truth when He says that sin shall not have dominion 
over you. "What things soever ye desire, when ye 
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have 
them." Mark 11 124. 

Hasten and get the victory. Hasten to get something 
to tell, and then you can ask God for power to tell it — 
for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 



Reader, if a drunkard should come to your church and 
apply for membership, stating the conditions on which 
he would become a member, as follows, would you re- 
ceive him? Listen, now, while he speaks, and decide: — 



' I hereby mane application for membership in this 
church. Eut these are the conditions, and the only con- 
ditions, on which I will become a member. I am what 
is called a drunkard. For forty years I have been a 
slave to drink. And it isn't to be exnected that I should 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



41 



quit all at once. 1 am willing to try to taper off; but, 
of course, I want plenty of time. 

"When I get drunk, I generally whip my wife and 
break the furniture. Now I want this matter thor- 
oughly understood, so that after I am a member and I 
get drunk and whip my wife there must be no attention 
paid to it. I want it understood that I expect to get 
drunk and whip my wife for some time yet. 

"But I will tell you what I will agree to do. Now, I 
get drunk every day, but after I join the church I will 
agree to be sober half a day the next w : eek, and only be 
drunk six days and a half. Then, after a time, I will 
keep sober one whole day, and only be drunk six days. 
After a time I will be sober two whole days, and only 
get drunk five. Later, I will be sober three days and 
drunk four; and then, after a while — but I want plenty 
of time — I will be sober four days and drunk only three 
days. Think of it, sober more than half of the time! 
After a long time I will get the advantage of. this drink 
habit so that I will only get drunk and whip my wife on 
Saturday nights. And after a few years I will make 
such progress that I wall only get drunk on Christmas, 
and New Year's, and Washington's Birthday, and Labor 
Day, and the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving Day. 
Now, I have been forty years in forming this habit, and 
it will, of course, take some years to get rid of it. 

"I make these statements so that after I join the 
church and get drunk and beat my wife, as I expect to 
do, no member of the church will have any reason to 
make a fuss about it. Now, that it is distinctly under- 
stood that I expect to continue to get drunk and whip 
my wife for a time after I join the church, I present my 
application for membership, and ask for an immediate 
answer." 



42 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



Now, reader, what will you do with this application? 
Will you vote to receive this man into your church? 

So you unhesitatingly reject his application? Why 
do you refuse him membership? Because you don't 
receive drunkards and wife-beaters into the church? 
But what is the poor man to do? 

"Stop drinking/' do you say? Stop all of a sudden? 
Do you mean to say that you will vote to keep that man 
out of the church until he stops drinking and beating 
his wife? But he has been forty years contracting that 
habit. So you still insist on his stopping that terrible 
habit instantly? Do you mean to say that there is power 
enough in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which you profess, 
to give this poor man instant and permanent victory 
over his great enslaving sin, so he need not get drunk 
and whip his wife any more forever? Your answer, 
then, is, "Yes, emphatically, yes." 

You have answered well. Your decision to exclude 
the drunken wife-beater until he is regenerated, and re- 
fuse to permit him to join the church and taper off, is a 
wise and scriptural decision. But now what are you 
going to do about your own case? What are you going 
to do with that besetting sin of yours? How long are 
you going to be in tapering off your impatience, your 
evil thinking and speaking, your cruel criticizing, your 
fault-finding, your intemperance in eating, your pride of 
dress, your self-esteem, your love of the world, your love 
of worldly pleasure? 

Can't you see that when you demand that the drunk- 
ard stop his drinking instantly, and declare that there is 
power in the gospel to thus deliver him, you condemn 
yourself, and are left yourself without excuse in con- 
tinuing in your besetting sin another hour? And it w r as 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



43 



to bring you face to face with this solemn fact that this 
illustration was introduced. God can and God does 
deliver the drunkard and wife-beater instantly and per- 
manently, and this is an evidence that you can be de- 
livered instantly and permanently from your besetting 
sin. 

When you shall come to look upon it in its true sin- 
fulness, and become as desirous of deliverance as the 
drunkard, and seek God as earnestly, praying in faith, 
you, too, can have as immediate and permanent a de- 
liverance. "Ask, and ye shall receive." "Sin shall not 
have dominion over you." "Go, and sin no more." 



More confirming testimony from correspondence: — 
"I take pleasure in dropping you a few lines to tell 
you my experience since you left. I had a hard fight 
with the devil during all the meeting. I did not have 
that freedom that I desired. I could not say, with the 
apostle Paul, 'There is therefore now no condemnation 
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after 
the flesh, but after the Spirit/ 'But thanks be to God, 
which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
Christ.' I praise the Lord that I have the victory over 
my besetting sin that has enslaved me for years; and 
now I can truly say that 'there is therefore now no con- 
demnation to them which are in Christ Jesus/ I en- 
joy such freedom as I never before had in all my Chris- 
tian experience. 

" 'Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after 
righteousness; for they shall be filled/ I can say that 
I have experienced that hungering and thirsting. Oh, 
praise the Lord for victory! This last week has been 



44 



?c:".-r for ;r:-:;zssiyc> 



the most pleasant week of all my life; for I am gaining 
victories daify. I am not satisfied with anything short 
of having the fulness ;: the blessed Spirit. I have rive:: 
m\ T selt to Him to be used to His glory. I drop yon 
these lines, thinking they may be of some help to some 
other poor soul who is in bondage. Oh, praise the 
Lord for victory!" 



life. Complete victory is still my experience. As ex- 

in my God; for He hath clothe: me ::h the garments 
of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of right- 
eousness.' I have daily found great light and comfort 

in reading the books of Isaiah, Acts, and Romans. Two 
months ago I would have thought it an impossibility for 
me ever to grasp so quickly these wonderful victories, 
and to have such uninterrupted peace/* 



X 

SPEEDY DELIVERANCE 



Cne of those who respond 
was a middle-aged man, wh< 
church, was a great sinner, 
ice he came to me with this 
say that I can gain the vict 
completely that I need nev< 
"That is just what I mean, 2 
never been a Christian, and 
spairing reply. "Not too 



e: to the call to repentance, 
o, though a member of the 
.-it the close :: the serv- 
qnestion, "Do yon mean to 
cry ever a besetting sin so 
tr commit that sin again? 5 
I replied. "Then I have 

fast, my irieni." I replied. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



45 



"As for the past of your life, I can not speak; but as for 
what God can do in the future, I know if you will make 
a complete consecration, He can and will save you from 
your besetting sins, and so completely that you need be 
the slave of them no more forever. " 

As the meetings continued, he responded to every call 
to repentance, as one sin after another was seen m the 
light of the Spirit-illumined Word. During the day he 
went from house to house, confessing his faults and 
making restitution where he had wronged his neighbors. 
Confessions were made in his home, husband to wife, 
and wife to husband. 

His progress in spiritual things was astonishing. 
Every evening when opportunity was offered, he would 
make a confession to the congregation of some wrong 
which concerned the public, and which the Spirit had 
brought to his mind during the day, and then tell of the 
victory he was gaining over the powers of darkness. 
Such deliverance must have astonished and aroused tKe 
enemy, who counted upon him as forever ruined. At 
last Satan made a desperate effort to regain his control. 

In the midst of the evening discourse, the deceiver 
suddenly threw upon him the memory of his life of sin, 
and ridiculed the idea of such a sinner ever being saved. 
He was staggered, then he doubted. Then the door 
was open for the devil, and he quickly followed his ad- 
vantage with the suggestion that the only thing left was 
self-destruction: and the man immediately arose and 
started to leave the church to take his life. But the 
enemy wished to use him to divert the minds of the con- 
gregation from the discourse, and so he was thrown 
down in the aisle in a way to suggest the demon- 
possessed young man described in Luke 9:42. 



46 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



He was carried struggling and groaning into the 
vestibule, where his distracting cries and struggles con- 
tinued. With the combined strength of eight men he 
was overpowered and carried to his home, from which 
he later escaped into the open fields; here he was again 
captured, and by the same number of men returned to 
his home. 

So completely was he subject to Satan that at his 
suggestion, he, to all appearance, ceased to breathe, and 
the report was accordingly circulated that he was dead. 
But he again revived. 

At the close of the service tw r o ministers went to the 
house, and, taking him by the hand, rebuked his un- 
belief, which manifested itself in expressions of despair, 
and quoted the promises of God. They were rewarded 
by seeing the man delivered from the devil. 

At a following meeting he came into the congregation 
and related his experience and praised the Lord for his 
deliverance, saying that no devil-possession recorded in 
the Scriptures was more real than his. 

From that time his help in the meetings was most 
valuable. Besides his ringing testimony borne every 
evening, which was always confirmed by that of his 
faithful wife, his personal work in talking and praying 
with sinners during the day and at the after service was 
a substantial aid to the work of the meetings. 

His confessions and restitutions continued, and ex- 
tended to other neighborhoods. He went to Boston, 
and there acknowledged wherein he had wronged sev- 
eral business firms with which he had dealt, and, not 
having the money to make immediate restitution, he 
gave them a list of his personal property, and told them 
to help themselves and satisfy their claims. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



47 



"How did they treat your offer?" I asked. 

"Some took more than was their due, while others 
took less/' he replied. 

To this day this brand plucked from the burning has 
continued a faithful witness to the power of God to save 
the chief of sinners. 

The purpose in relating this experience is to show 
how quickly God can take a great sinner who is willing, 
and give him complete and permanent deliverance from 
the dominion of Satan. The time it takes the Lord to 
accomplish a complete salvation, is measured by that 
man's promptness in responding to the convicting and 
converting power of God. "Behold, the Lord's hand is 
not shortened, that it can not save; neither his ear heavy, 
that it can not hear; but your iniquities have separated 
between you and your God, and your sins have hid His 
face from you, that He will not hear." Isa. 59:1, 2. 
"Only acknowledge thine iniquity." Jer. 3:13. "If we 
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our 
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 
1 John 1 :g. "If the wicked restore the pledge, give 
again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, 
without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he 
shall not die. Eze. 33:15. 

At the close of a service conducted with the students 
of an eastern academy, the preceptress brought a young 
lady student to me with the request that I make an ef- 
fort to help her. The conversation was substantially as 
follows : — 

Minister — If the Lord Jesus sat where I am sitting, 
what would you ask Him for? 

Student — I would ask Him for peace. 

M. — If He should offer you peace would you take it? 



48 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



S. — I would. 

M. — Are you entirely surrendered to the Lord? 
5. — So far as I know, I am. 
M. — Do you believe the Bible? 
S. — Yes, indeed. 

M. — Do you believe it is the word of the Lord to you? 
S. — Yes, sir. 

M. — Read the twenty-seventh verse of the fourteenth 
chapter of John. Read it aloud; I want to hear it. 
Remember it is peace you want. 

S. — "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto 
you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not 
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 

M. — Do you believe that scripture? 

S. — I do' 

M. — Then the Lord has given you peace, hasn't He? 
5. — He has. 

M. — Then let us kneel and thank Him for it. 

After the prayer of thanksgiving, the young woman 
departed with joy, and time has shown a stable, stead- 
fast Christian. 



The two extracts from letters which follow are from 
the two parties referred to in this chapter: — 

"The Lord is still working for us at , and new 

victories are being won every day. The Lord is leading 
me, and giving me a burden for others. I am spending 
most of my time with those who have not yet obtained 
the victory, but who have become interested and want 
to know more of the truth. I am growing stronger in 
the Lord every day. Praise His name that He can take 
such a poor, weak sinner as I was, and so fill him with 
the Holy Ghost that the Lord can use him to help poor 
sin-sick souls to gain the victory over Satan! I am so 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



49 



glad that the Lord is no respecter of persons. The 
Lord has worked a miracle for me, and I praise Him for 
it. The anchor holds. Glory to God, it holds! It is 
grounded on the solid rock of His salvation. I praise 
the Lord for His keeping power." 



"Praise the Lord, the anchor still holds! 'Oh, how 
sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word 1 / 
There is powxr in His Word, and I see new beauties 
in John 14:27. I also know what Rom. 8:1 means. 
The Bible is a new book. I can not refrain from sing- 
ing praises to God continually. The peace of God 
passes all understanding. When auntie asked me if I 
did not wish to have a little talk with you, I told her it 
would be of no use; but I see now how great a hold 
Satan had on me. So who has a greater right to shout 
victory and praise to Jesus than I?" 



A fashionable young woman appeared in the congre- 
gation at a revival meeting. She was conspicuous be- 
cause of her millinery, which, while in good taste viewed 
from the standpoint of the world, was in contrast with 
the plainer attire of most of the congregation. 

I noticed her listening closely, but thought she was 
only a respectful transient visitor. She came again. I 
said to myself, "If that young woman continues to at- 
tend the services, she will eventually leave that hat at 
home." And so it was. And then came a request for 
an interview and for prayer. "And what shall I pray 
for?" I asked. "Pray that the Lord will give me 
strength to surrender," was the response. "I will," I 

4 



50 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



replied. "But will you not join with me in this prayer? 1 * 
"I can not pray," was the reply. "You certainly can 
ask God to help you surrender." 

She did not promise to do it, but I knelt and prayed. 
After some time of silence she prayed one sentence,— 
a request for strength to surrender all. And it was 
done. And then there was great joy in that surren- 
dered heart. 

"Why can not I be healed?" was the next question. 
"My health is very poor." The answer was that she 
could if she had faith to be healed. She was given a 
number of scriptures to study with the instruction that, 
if faith came from hearing these scriptures, to call for 
the elders, and they would proceed according to the in- 
struction found in James. 

Later she called for anointing and prayer. After a 
careful questioning to ascertain if she "had faith to be 
healed," so that we might pray " the prayer of faith," 
we prayed over her, anointing her with oil in the "name 
of the Lord." When the prayers were ended, and we 
had arisen, she remarked with a calm confidence, "I be- 
lieve I am healed, but I feel no change." Presently she 
said, "Let us kneel and thank the Lord for my healing." 

Such faith from one so newly converted was refresh- 
ing. She was asked to lead in the thanksgiving, which 
she did with a freedom and fervor which deeply im- 
pressed all present. When we again arose she quietly 
remarked, "Now I feel the healing power." 

Her healing and feeling had followed her faith, and 
now she had healing and joy and peace in believing. 
Some one may say, Now I know the formula; now I will 
pray for the Holy Spirit or for healing, and then get up 
and say, I am filled, or I am healed, and it will be so. No; 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



51 



saying that it is so will not make it so. If it is said in 
faith, it is so ; but if it is said in form, it is not so. Faith 
is not created by one's will-power. Faith comes by hear- 
ing the Word of God. And unless faith comes, the form- 
ula, the prayer, the anointing and the laying on of hands, 
will avail nothing. 

If any one lack faith let him continue to hear the Word. 
And when faith comes, he will know it. He will not 
need anyone to tell him whether he has faith; and the 
minister who is acquainted with faith will recognize that 
faith. 

"What is your trouble?" was asked of a man who had 
remained to the after- meeting. "I want to be a Chris- 
tian, but I am afraid to start for fear I will fall," was the 
response. 

"If the Lord should speak to you with an audible 
voice from heaven, and tell you not to fear, that He 
would hold you up, would you start?" "Yes," was the 
answer. 

"Do you believe that the Lord speaks to men through 
the Bible?" "I do." "Do you believe that He speaks 
to you?" "Yes." Then read the tenth verse of the 
forty-first chapter of Isaiah and hear Him speak to you. 

He read: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not 
dismayed; for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; 
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the 
right hand of My righteousness." 

"I will start," said the man, when he had finished 
reading, and there appeared in his face a new-born con- 
fidence in God's willingness and ability to uphold him. 



52 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



XI 

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN RECEIVING 
KEEPING POWER 

The writer wishes to bear witness to the faithfulness 
of the Lord in fulfilling the promise of His Word, not 
only to forgive sin, but to keep us from falling back into 
the same old sins again. 

He has learned by experience that while the gift of 
forgiveness of sins is a blessed gift, it is not the end but 
only the beginning of Christian experience. "Many 
shall be purified, and made white, and tried'' Dan. 
12:10. After the taking away of sin. then comes the 
testing. After conversion, then character-building. 
Some seem surprised that they should meet with great 
trial after conversion; but this is not strange. "Think 
it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try 
you, as though some strange thing happened unto you."' 

When, after conversion. I met with sore temptation. 
I was surprised and repeatedly overcome. I had learned 
the Lord's willingness to forgive, and would hasten to 
confess my sin and receive forgiveness, and start again 
with strong determinations and bright hopes, only to fail 
again. This sinning and repenting continued until I 
grew so tired out and so humbled by it, and so hungry for 
victory, that I was willing to be taught by the humblest 
instrument whom the Lord would use. 

In this condition of mind I was providentially led into 
a mission in one of our large cities. It was my plan to 
remain a spectator, to secure what good I could, and 
depart without disclosing my identity. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



53 



The leader of the meeting read a short scripture, made 
a few practical comments, and then began witnessing to 
the faithfulness of God to fulfil His promises. "Three 
years ago to-night," said the speaker, k 'I came into this 
mission a slave to drink. I was a bankrupt physically, 
morally, and financially. If salvation had cost only a 
cent, I could not have gotten it. I had heard that a 
man would find friends in the mission when all other 
friends had forsaken him. 1 listened to the testimony of 
the other men who said they had been saved from 
drunkards' graves through faith in Jesus Christ, and I 
made up my mind to give myself to the Lord and ask 
Him to save me; and I did, and He saved me. I have 
not drunk a drop of liquor, nor used tobacco, nor sworn 
an oath since that night. My wife and children, who 
had been scattered by my life of drunkenness and sin, 
have been gathered again, and we are now a united 
family. Morning and evening we have our family wor- 
ship, where we join in praising the Lord for His sal- 
vation." 

The witnessing of this poor publican thrilled me 
through and through. Hasn't touched a drop of liquor, 
nor used tobacco, nor sworn an oath for three years! 
"There is something permanent*' I said to myself. 
"Why can I not be saved from my besetting sins in that 
same way? Why can I not be saved from my impa- 
tience with a salvation just as permanent as that?" 

The witnessing of this man so thrilled me that I 
seemed full of amens, but I did not intend to allow my 
identity to be known, and so smothered them. 

"I was raised in the Bowery," said another man, "and 
sold papers for a living, and slept in the alley and in the 
dry-goods boxes. When I grew older, I stole for a liv- 



54 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



ing, and then I gambled for a living, and drank and 
fought and committed all the other sins which go along 
with such a life, until I was a wreck without hope. In 
my despair I came into this mission, just five years, 
three months, and twenty-one days ago to-night, where 
I sought the Lord for salvation, and He saved me. I 
have not stolen, nor gambled, nor fought, nor drunk 
since that night. Praise the Lord! And what He has 
done for me, He will do for any sinner here." 

"There, that is what I want; something permanent," 
I thought to myself. "Why can I not be saved from my 
besetting sins in just that way? Five years, three 
months, twenty-one days! Why is he so definite about 
the time? He must greatly appreciate every day that 
he is saved from his old sins. Why don't I count my 
salvation by the day? I wonder if these poor fellows 
really appreciate their salvation more than I do. But 
they have been saved from such terrible lives, they ought 
to be thankful. Then the reason why I am not more 
thankful for my salvation is because I don't think my 
salvation is very remarkable, and the reason why it is 
not very remarkable is because I was not in need of a 
very remarkable salvation, because I have not been a 
very remarkable sinner." "To whom little is forgiven, 
the same loveth little." Luke 7:47. 

Then I found myself arm in arm with that other 
Pharisee who was found praying with that other pub- 
lican in the temple. The Pharisee said, "God, I thank 
Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, un- 
just, adulterers or even as this publican." 

The publican said, "God be merciful to me a sinner." 
Jesus said, "I tell you, this man went down to his house 
justified rather than the other." Luke 18:11, 13, 14. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



The one went away glorifying God for his salvation, 
the other remained glorifying himself in his self- 
righteousness. When I saw the company I was in, I 
immediately broke with the Pharisee, and moved closer 
to the publican. I wanted a great salvation, — I wanted 
it at any cost. 

"Five years, eleven months, and sixteen days ago to- 
night, I came into this mission a ragged, penniless, 
ruined man. I had decided to throw myself in the river, 
but thought I would stop in here first. That night the 
Lord saved me from my drink and sin, and for over two 
years I was a sober man. But after I had secured a 
good position and began to wear good clothes, I -began 
to think I was able to walk alone, and I let go of the 
hand that had saved me and kept me, and I fell back into 
the old life again. But I knew I was down, and I knew 
how I was saved before. The Lord saved me again, 
and has kept me ever since; and I don't let go of His 
hand any more." 

I w r anted to say, "Amen," but again I smothered it. 

Presently a woman arose, She was dressed in white. 
Some friends had brought her a large bouquet of white 
lilies, and had come to rejoice with her, and to celebrate 
with her the fifth anniversary of her salvation from a 
life of sin and shame. 

"Five years ago to-night," the young woman began, 
"I was rescued from a life of sin and shame. The Lord 
saved me from the street when I was engaged in the 
work of destroying the sons and daughters of fond 
mothers. But the Lord found me, and washed me 
clean in His own blood. I have since started a rescue 
heme, and I am now giving my life to the work of res- 
cuing my sisters from the life from which the Lord has 



56 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



rescued me. Oh, what a change He has wrought in 
my heart! Yesterday, with some Christian friends I 
spent a day of recreation in the park, and, would you 
believe it? I had entrusted, to me, during the day, twelve 
little sweet-faced girls. Oh, think of it; that such a 
woman as I have been should be so cleansed and 
changed that mothers would be willing to trust me with 
the care of their innocent little ones! Praise the Lord 
for His love and saving power!" 

I could smother the amens no longer, and one es- 
caped, with a good church prayer-meeting fervor. 

The people looked around. I could hide my identity 
no longer, but arose and said : — - 

"Brethren and sisters, I am a preacher; but I see a 
salvation manifested here that I have not experienced. 
But I purpose to have it if I must get drunk, get ar- 
rested, and sentenced to jail, and have some missionary 
come and teach me through the bars. I must have it at 
any cost. The Lord is no respecter of persons. If He 
can save you from your besetting sins and keep you 
saved, He can save me from mine." 

I went from this meeting to my home strongly im- 
pressed with God's power to save to the uttermost. I 
looked myself over in the light of the Word, and de- 
cided that I was mean enough already; that I need not 
sin any more in order to be a great sinner and obtain a 
great salvation. I found my heart described in the 
Word as "desperately wicked, 1 ' and that a salvation from 
such a desperately wicked heart would be a glorious 
salvation. Some of this wickedness had worked its way 
out, and I had seen it, and was willing to take by faith 
the truthfulness of the Word for all that had not been 
seen. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



57 



Then I found myself, in my own estimation, beside 
the penitent publican, and I too asked to be saved like 
any other publican. I claimed salvation from my beset- 
ting sins by faith, just as the other publicans, and just as 
I had claimed the forgiveness of sins on a former occa- 
sion. I based my faith on the promise of the Word, 
that having yielded my members "as instruments of 
righteousness unto God/' "sin shall not have dominion 
over you." Rom. 6:13, 14. I claimed it without any 
other evidence except the promise of God. I claimed it 
by faith. "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, 
believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." 
Mark 11:24. 

Then I went to the mission meeting and related my 
experience, and told them that I found I did not need 
to become a drunkard to be bad enough to be in need of 
a great salvation; that I had found I w r as mean enough 
already, and, seeing this, I had sought salvation from 
my besetting- sins just like any other great sinner, and 
had found the Saviour who saves to the uttermost; and 
from this time on I did not propose that any converted 
drunkard or harlot should ever excel me in praising the 
Lord for salvation. 

Thus, dear reader, did I learn through this humbling 
experience the secret of a great salvation. Only those 
who realize that they are great sinners will receive a 
great salvation; but sin as seen nailing the Son of God 
to the cross of Calvary, becomes exceedingly sinful. 

Remember it was such a view of sin, a complete con- 
secration of all to God, and faith in the naked promise 
of God to save to the uttermost, and keep the sinner 
from falling, that wrought this deliverance. 



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XII 

HUMILITY, THEN GLORY 

"Whom He justified, them He also glorified." Rom. 
8:30. Why is it that the message of justification by 
faith, or the blessing of Abraham, must be received be- 
fore the promise of the Spirit, or the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost, can be received? Gal. 3:14. One reason is, that 
the reception of truth that we are made righteous and 
kept righteous by faith, is a complete and everlasting de- 
struction to the thing which, above every other thing, is 
keeping the baptism of the Spirit from the church. That 
thing is pride. Self-pride, family pride, church pride, 
state pride, national pride, — it matters not in what form 
it appears, pride is a barrier to the promise of the recep- 
tion of the Spirit. But the reception of the gospel mes- 
sage of righteousness by faith, is instant and eternal 
death to all the pride of every human heart that fully 
receives it. 

"If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof 
to glory; but not before God." If you could justify 
yourself by your good works, you would have whereof 
to glory; but you can not, and when you come to really 
believe this, all self-glorying, all pride, will depart from 
the heart. "For all have sinned, and come short of the 
glory of God; being justified freely by His grace 
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom 
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith 
in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the re- 
mission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of 
God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness; 



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59 



that He might be just, and the justifier of him which 
believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is ex- 
cluded" Rom. 3:23-27. 

All boasting is excluded from that heart which has 
come to realize that righteousness is alone by faith. 
But why is this so? What is the divine philosophy of 
it? Here it is: If righteousness is of faith, not of works, 
then it can not be earned; it must be begged. Justifica- 
tion by faith, therefore, makes a beggar of every sinner, 
and as "all have sinned," it makes beggars of the whole 
human race, rich and poor, high and low, wise and un- 
wise. And when men and women are brought to the 
place where they feel their need so keenly that they will 
humble themselves to beg, it is to be expected that their 
pride is crucified. 

When we seek to be justified by faith, we must come 
to the Lord and acknowledge that we are unjust, that 
we are sinners, that we need to have our sins forgiven. 
This is humbling to the natural heart. By this coming 
we acknowledge that we can not make ourselves right- 
eous; can not forgive our own sins. If we could, we 
would not have come. And this, too, is humbling. 
And when we come, we have to ask forgiveness as a 
beggar would have to ask for food at the door. 
"Knock, and it shall be opened unto you;" "ask, and it 
shall be given you." And this, also, is humbling. And 
should we be asked what we have to pay for it, we must 
reply that we haven't anything to pay, but that the Lord 
Jesus told us that if we would come and ask help in His 
name, it would be given us free. And this is humbling, 
too. 

But all this is but a small part of the humbling. We 
must ask for a fresh supply every day; we can not come 



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FOR 



WITNESSING. 



and get a supply that will last forever, so that we can go 
away and be independent of the Giver, and become 
proud and self-righteous over what has been given us. 
YYe are compelled to acknowledge that we can not keep 
ourselves from falling into those same sins for which we 
have been forgiven. We have to ask the Lord for daily 
bread, for strength to keep us from falling, and tell Him 
again and again that we have nothing to pay, but the 
Saviour told us to come and ask for keeping power in 
His name, and it would be given free. Yes,, we have to 
come and ask to be fed free ail the time, to become reg- 
ular charity boarders. And if we ever get the idea that 
we are earning our living, that we are not any longer 
charity boarders,, or. in other words, that we can keep 
ourselves from failing into our old sins, there must come 
a terrible fail, which, like David's, will break our bones, 
and bring forcibly to mind the fact of our dependence 
on Him who alone is able to keep us "from falling." 
Yes, the gospel truth that men are made righteous by 
faith, humbles the glory of man in the dust. It teaches 
him that he can not forgive his own past sins, but must 
come to the Lord and ask forgiveness, and must take it 
by faith. It teaches him also that he can not keep him- 
self from falling into those old sins again, and must 
come and ask for keeping power, and then believe that 
he receives it, and be thankful for it. 

Reader,, has the gospel of righteousness by faith done 
this work of humbling for you: Is all your pride cruci- 
fied? Is your own glory in the dust? Are you ready 
to be glorified with "power from on high"? Should you 
be baptized with the Holy Ghost for witnessing power, 
could you keep humble while the multitude looked on in 
wonder and amazement? Should the cripple be healed. 



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61 



and begin leaping and shouting, and the people flock 
around and look at you with awe and admiration, 
would you say from the heart, "Why look ye so earnestly 
on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had 
made this man to walk?" 

Would you point them to the Lamb of God, that tak- 
eth away the sin of the world? The gospel of right- 
eousness as a free gift is sent to you to humble you and 
prepare you to be glorified. 

There is much being written and spoken to-day con- 
cerning the Holy Spirit. Many prayers are offered at 
conventions and conferences for the baptism of the Holy 
Spirit. But God is merciful and does not grant the 
request, because to do so would be to bring ruin to the 
receiver. Should the Lord grant apostolic power to 
one who is proud, he would thereby feed that pride. A 
proud man with power is a foe to himself, his God, and 
his fellows. Satan is a startling example of the results 
of pride with power. 

God is anxious to baptize men and women with the 
Holy Ghost and power. But they must first be hum- 
ble. The apostles were men from the humble walks of 
life, but still they had to be humbled. Paul's converts 
were men who were led to turn from the "foolish things" 
of the world, but he exhorted them to humility thus: 
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many 
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many 
noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish 
things of the world to confound the wise; and God 
hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound 
the things which are mighty; and base things of the 
world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, 
yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught 



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things that are; that no flesh should glory in His presence. 
But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made 
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, 
and redemption; that, according as it is written, he that 
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." I Cor. 1:26-31. 
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love 
wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, 
hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye 
are saved) ; and hath raised us up together, and made us 
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in 
the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches 
of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ 
Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and 
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, 
lest any man should boast." Eph. 2:4-9. "For who 
maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou 
that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, 
why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" 
1 Cor. 4:7. 

While pride is the sin above every other sin that is 
keeping the baptism of the Holy Spirit away from men 
and women, yet it is easy for God to destroy it. Ask 
Him to do it. Believe that He does it, and it is done. 
Accept of righteousness by faith, and you will be hum- 
bled. When humbled, you are ready to be exalted with 
power from on high. 1 Peter 5:6. 



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XIII 

THE SPIRIT IN SANCTIFICATION 

She had prayed earnestly to the Lord to show her the 
true condition of her heart. When He gave her a 
glimpse of its real condition, though a Christian worker 
she immediately went into hopeless despair, and a stupor 
with an alarming indifference took possession of her. 

At this point, with other ministers I was requested 
by her friends to visit her. Our earnest inquiry called 
out the foregoing facts, but all efforts to get her to seek 
the Lord for deliverance failed for a time. A part of the 
conversation was in substance as follows: — 

Minister — So you asked the Lord to show you the 
sinfulness of your heart? 

Woman — Yes. 

M. — And He heard your prayer and revealed your 
sinfulness? 
W.— Yes. 

M. — Why did you sink into this discouragement? 
W. — Because I despaired of ever being saved from my 
sinfulness. 

M. — But did you not ask Him to show you your sin- 
fulness? 
W. — Yes. 

M. — Is not your despair the result of your doubting 
the power and love of God to save you from the sins 
you asked Him to show you? 

W. — I presume it is. 

M. — Have you not sinned in doubting God's love and 
power? 



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W. — I presume I have. 

M. — Will you repent of that sin? 

W. — I can't. 

M. — Will you kneel here, and ask the Lord to forgive 
you for doubting His love? 
W. — I can not pray. 

All these answers were made in a dazed, indifferent 
way. 

After much urging, the woman knelt. But she 
seemed unable to pray. Though a Christian worker, 
she seemed powerless to pray the simplest prayer. She 
was asked to repeat this prayer, "O Lord, forgive me 
for doubting Thy love." 

Before she had finished the sentence, the spell was 
broken, and she wept tears of repentance, from eyes 
which before were dry and hopeless, while the minister 
finished the sentence with a prayer of thanksgiving. 

A marvelous transformation followed, and hope and 
joy returned. We may indeed thank the Lord that He 
does not reveal to us all of our imperfections at once. 

"Will you not come and speak with a young woman, 
who, I fear, is losing her interest in the meetings?" was 
a request which came to me at the close of a service in 
the west. 

In response to an inquiry, the young woman related 
how, the day before, she sought the Lord with others at 
the revival service, and had found forgiveness and peace. 
But while still kneeling, the Lord had revealed a sacri- 
fice which He called upon her to make; but she was not 
willing to surrender her idol, and she charged God with 
a lack of love in calling upon her so quickly to make 
this surrender. "He ought to have waited until I was 
stronger," she boldly declared. 



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65 



All attempts to renew her interest in her salvation 
were futile. She had refused to permit the Lord to lead 
her further. She had grieved the Spirit by her rebel- 
lion, and she was left without conviction. 

How careful the Lord is in the work of wooing 
the sinner from his sins, and yet with all His love and 
wisdom many refuse to be led in the path of self-denial. 

Bible sanctification is a progressive work. We can 
not bear to see all of our wrong-doing at once; and no 
wrong-doing will ever be righted until the wrong-doer 
is able to see the wrong-doing as wrong, and deliberately 
decide against it and seek God for deliverance from it. 
God does not arbitrarily deliver us from sin. God does 
not deliver us from sin without our knowledge, consent, 
and cooperation. How could He? How could I be 
saved from wrong-doing while not knowing it to be 
wrong? If I do not know a thing to be wrong, I must 
regard it as right. How can God ever save me from a 
wrong-doing which I consider right-doing, unless He can 
first show me that the thing is wrong? Perfect sancti- 
fication necessitates perfect knowledge of right and 
wrong. The acquiring of this knowledge requires time. 
It is gained by experience, by exercise, or training. All 
this is taught in the following scripture: — 

"For when by reason of the time ye ought to be 
teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you 
the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of 
God; and are become such as have need of milk, and 
not of solid food. For every one that partaketh of milk 
is without experience of the word of righteousness; for 
he is a babe. But solid food is for full-grown men, even 
those who by reason of use have their senses exercised 
to discern good and evil/' Heb. 5:12-14, R. V. 

5 



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A full-grown man, therefore, is a man of experience; 
one who, because of having used his spiritual faculties, 
has them exercised, or trained, to discern good and evil. 
All this proves that we must be able to discern evil be- 
fore we shall be able or willing to put it away. And this 
perfect discernment is the fruit of experience, or spirit- 
ual exercise. It can not all be acquired in a moment. 

Our Lord spoke the gospel to the people "as they were 
able to hear it." And to His disciples He said, "I have 
yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear 
them now." John 16:12. Just as fast as any man is 
able to bear the truth, God will reveal it to him, and just 
as fast as he is able to receive the truth, just so fast is 
he being sanctified by it. It is the office of the Holy 
Spirit to guide men into all truth by revealing to them 
the word of truth. "Sanctify them through Thy truth; 
Thy Word is truth." John 17:17. "When He, the 
Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; 
for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He 
vshall hear, that shall He speak." John 16:13. 

But while sanctification is a progressive work, for the 
reason that man is not able to bear the sight of all his 
imperfections at once, yet the deliverance from an im- 
perfection which the Lord has revealed is not a progress- 
ive but an instantaneous work. To illustrate: When 
the Lord convicts men that the use of tobacco is sinful, 
He does not want them to taper off. He does not in- 
tend that they shall continue for a moment to do, in the 
smallest particular, that which they know to be sin. ^If 
I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had 
sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin." John 
15:22, R. V. "Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, 
ye should have no sin; but now ye say, We see; there- 



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67 



fore your sin remaineth." John 9:41. "Therefore to 
him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him 
it is sin." James 4:17. 

There is therefore no excuse for any one's continu- 
ing in a sin which he has been shown by the Spirit to be 
sin. God says that he is without excuse. And the rea- 
son that he is without excuse, is that when God gives 
a knowledge of sin, He always furnishes with that 
knowledge the power to triumph over sin. "The law 
came in beside, that the trespass might abound; but 
where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceed- 
ingly; that, as sin reigned in death, even so might grace 
reign through righteousness unto eternal life through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say then? 
Shall w r e continue in sin, that grace may abound? God 
forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer 
live therein?" Rom. 5:20, 21 ; 6:1, 2, R. V. 

Reader, are you walking in the light? Are you gain- 
ing victories at every step, and are you stepping fast? 
The Spirit exhorts us thus: "Wherefore let us cease to 
speak of the first principles of Christ, and press on unto 
perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance 
from dead works." Heb. 6:1, R. V. God has planned 
that the Christian experience shall be one long series of 
glorious victories over the world, the flesh, and the 
devil, from Christian birth to Christian perfection. 
When, in our upward march, a hitherto undiscovered 
sin appears in the path of progress, there is no excuse 
for ever being overcome by that sin again, nor for being 
halted by it for a moment. The God who points out the 
sin, furnishes power, in response to faith, for instant and 
everlasting victory over that sin. "There is therefore 
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ 



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Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made 
me free from the law of sin and death." Rom. 8:1, 2. 



XIV 

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE UNPARDONABLE SIN 

Not only is there no excuse for continuing in sin after 
it is known to be sin, but it is a fearfully dangerous thing 
to do. This habit of sinning and repenting, this "going 
forward" and "backsliding" involves the committing of 
the unpardonable sin. 

The apostle, after telling the Hebrews that they 
needed to be taught again the first principles of Chris- 
tian experience, when, considering the time they had 
confessed Christ, they ought to be teachers of others, 
urges them to press on unto perfection. The reason 
for this earnest exhortation is given in these solemn 
words which follow: "For it is impossible for those who 
were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly 
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and 
have lasted the good word of God, and the powers of 
the world to come, if they fall away, to renew them again 
unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the 
Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame. 
For the earth which drinketh in the rain which cometh 
oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by 
whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God : but that 
which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh 
unto cursing; whose end is to be burned." Heb. 6:4-8. 

God does not arbitrarily reject any sinning soul. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



69 



When the oft-repeated showers of His grace produce no 
permanent fruit, but in the place of fruit there appear 
only thorns and thistles, there is nothing left but rejec- 
tion and burning. Reader, have you been enlightened 
about your besetting sins? Have you tasted the Word 
of God, its cleansing and keeping power? Do you 
know how to be victorious through faith in His prom- 
ise? Have you experienced this victory? Then it is a 
fearfully dangerous thing for you to backslide and bear 
briers and thorns. If we bear thorns when we know 
they are thorns, and when we know the power of God 
to bear the fruits of the Spirit, what more can God 
do than He has done to save us from the thorns? What 
possible course is left to God but rejection and destruc- 
tion? All He has to produce the fruits is showers; but 
after all the showers only thorns! The whole matter is 
summed up in this one sentence, "Press on or perish." 
Backslidings must end. Sinning must cease. But still 
there is hope, — yes, hope for those who by reason of 
the time they have been professing Christians ought to 
be teachers, and are still in need of being taught the first 
principles of Christian experience. 

It was to this very class of backsliders that the Word 
was speaking when it urged them to "press on unto per- 
fection." To these very backsliders it expressed hope; 
to these who were so very near to committing the un- 
pardonable sin it says, "But, beloved, we are persuaded 
better things of you, and things that accompany salva- 
tion, though we thus speak." Heb. 6:9. 

Beloved, let us press on unto perfection. We must 
press on or perish. But how shall I press on? If you 
are not pressing on, it is because you have come up to 
some test in your life, and failed to meet that test and 



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overcome through faith in the promise of God to give 
you the victory. What is that test? What is that sin 
you have failed to put away by the power of God? Or, 
if it be more than one, what are those sins? Confess 
them to God. If they are sins that have wronged 
others, "confess your faults one to another.''' Do it 
now. If the wronged ones can not be reached in per- 
son, write them a letter of confession. Do it quickly. 
The devil says, "Put it oft;" the Spirit says. "Do it to- 
day." Having confessed your wrongs, ask to be for- 
given. You have the promise of God that, this done, He 
will forgive. With the forgiveness, ask also for power 
to overcome your besetting sins. Ask, and ye shall re- 
ceive. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, 
even our faith." "What things soever ye desire, when 
ye pray, believe ye receive them, and ye shall have 
them.'' It is so if you believe it Do not wait to feel 
that you are made whole. But say, "I believe it; not 
because I feel it. but because God has promised it." 
Having done this, now bear testimony that it is done. 
"If you believe the promise— believe that you are for- 
given and cleansed — God supplies the fact; you are made 
whole." 



XV 

SECRET OF REJOICING IN TRIBULATION 

We are commanded to rejoice in tribulation. This 
does not mean that we must rejoice in tribulation in the 
sense of enjoying tribulation, for we are told in another 
place that "all chastening seemeth for the present to be 
not joyous, but grievous." Heb. 12:11, R. V. It is 



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71 



presented as something to be endured ("if ye endure 
chastening''), not something to be enjoyed. We are to 
rejoice while in tribulation, but not in tribulation itself. 
But why are we to rejoice while in tribulation? — Be- 
cause of what the tribulation is accomplishing for us. 
"Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experi- 
ence; and experience, hope." Rom. 5:3, 4. No one 
has any real enduring hope of salvation either for him- 
self or any one else unless he has endured tribulation, 
and thereby obtained an experience. 

Experience is the Christian's capital. It is "more 
precious than gold that perishes." The fiercer the 
flame, the purer the gold; so the more testing the trial, 
the more precious the experience. Reader, how much 
of this gold have you in heaven's bank? Do you not 
greatly rejoice over what you have? If what you have 
makes you so happy, ought you not to be happy over 
the prospect of getting more? If you really knew that 
you were right in the act of getting more of this gold 
of experience, ought you not to be glad? Were you not 
glad the last time you w r ere so sorely tempted to be 
impatient, selfish, or proud, or envious, or unclean in 
thought or act, that you had a glorious opportunity to 
stand the trial and thus add another victory to your 
stock of experience? Then, do not ever again be sur- 
prised that you are tested. Some think it so strange 
that they should be tried. It would be strange if they 
were not tried. A Christian without trials would be, 
indeed, a strange Christian. Christian experience 
grows fat feeding on trials. You may as well try to 
rear a child without food, as to gain an experience with- 
out trials. Caleb and Joshua understood this when they 
told the children of Israel that the trials they must meet 



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were "bread" for them. Well, then, ''beloved, think it 
not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, 
as though some strange thing happened unto you; but re- 
joice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suffer- 
ings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be 
glad also with exceeding joy." i Peter 4:13. 

Another great reason for rejoicing in tribulation is 
found in the fact that the Lord has full charge of train- 
ing us through trial. Did you think the devil had con- 
trol of your trials? If you did. you are greatly mis- 
taken. All our trials come from the Lord. But does 
not the Bible say that God tempteth no man? Certainly 
it does, but there is a wide difference between tempta- 
tion and trial. Satan tempts to tear down and destroy. 
The Lord tries us to build us up and make us strong. 
Some cf Satan's temptations are allowed to come to us 
to try us. Only those temptations are allowed to come 
to us as trials which the Lord sees are needed as 
trials to strengthen us. The Lord stands between us 
and the temptations of Satan, and tests each temptation, 
and only permits those to pass Him and come to us 
which will be beneficial as trials to strengthen our faith. 
If we are walking in the light, no temptation will ever 
come to us from Satan, which has not first been care- 
fully inspected and measured by Him who "knoweth 
our frame/''' and "remembereth that we are dust," and 
who knows whether He can strengthen us to bear it, 
and thereby build us up. 

All this being true, how dare we murmur at an}' trial 
that ever comes to us? If we murmur, against whom 
shall we murmur? Since all our trials are permitted of 
the Lord, it follows that if we do any murmuring we 
must murmur against the Lord. But if we are unwill- 



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73 



ing to murmur against Him, then all murmuring must 
cease forever. All murmuring against members of the 
family, against members of the church, against neigh- 
bors, or against any one else on earth, living or dead, 
must cease forever, and all our murmurings must be 
made at the throne of God, from whence all our trials 
come. Here is positive proof that all this is so. Paul, 
writing to the Corinthians, warns against murmuring 
like the Israelites, who were destroyed, and then adds: 
'There hath no temptation taken you but such as is 
common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer 
you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with 
the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may 
be able to bear it." I Cor. 10:13. 

It was the Lord who led Israel to the Red Sea, where 
they were walled in by the mountains. It was the Lord 
who permitted the Egyptian army to close up the trap, 
and leave no human possibility of escape. God led the 
Israelites into this trial to strengthen their faith and 
give them an experience. 

Up to the Red Sea experience they had walked by 
sight. God had first wrought the miracle before ask- 
ing them to believe; but "we walk by faith, not by 
sight." And he who has not learned to trust God when 
he can not understand how he is to be delivered, has no 
enduring experience. Israel murmured because they 
could not see their way clear. They thought that some 
strange thing happened to them, and did not understand 
that God was giving them a trial, to teach them to trust 
Him, and consequently they murmured against God. 
After they had failed to get the needed experience out 
of this trial, the Lord tried them again. He led them 
into the wilderness, where there was no water fit to 



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drink. The Lord knew that the water was bitter. The 
Lord knew that they were thirsty. The Lord led them 
there because He wanted them there. The Lord led 
them to this place to teach them to trust Him in a trial 
which they could not understand. They did not see 
that the Lord had led them into this trial to deepen their 
experience. They thought another strange thing had 
happened to them, hence they murmured again. The 
Lord continued to give them trials through which they 
were to become partakers of His holiness; but most of 
them continued to complain of the trials until their car- 
casses fell in the wilderness. 

Reader, all these things were written to save you from 
thinking it strange concerning the fiery trials which are 
to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto 
you. "Now T all these things happened unto them for 
ensamples; and they are zvritten for our admonition, upon 
whom the ends of the world are come:' I Cor. 10:11. 

Let us therefore be admonished by the fatal mistake of 
the murmuring; Israelites, and expect that we shall be 
brought to Red Seas of difficulty and bitter waters of 
trial; and when there, we are not to think it strange 
concerning the fiery trials which are to try us, as though 
some strange thing happened unto us, but rejoice inas- 
much as we are partakers of Christ's suffering. 

The Lord knew how vital to Christian life and growth 
trials are, and how natural it would be to regard them 
as strange, and consequently to murmur at them; hence 
the Lord has plainly and positively stated that it is He 
Himself that chastises, and that it is an experience 
"whereof all are partakers," "that we might be partakers 
of His holiness." Heb. 12:5-13. Now, beloved, for- 
ever remember that you must be tried, and forever re- 



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member that the Lord Himself has complete control of 
the trials which are to try you, and that He "will not 
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will 
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye 
may be able to bear it." i Cor 10:13. If you will re- 
member this truth, your hands will no longer hang down 
with discouragement, nor your knees tremble with 
weakness, nor your path be crooked with failure. 

In writing this I am not writing theory; I am writing 
life. These things are a part of my life, a part of my 
experience; I write them for the salvation of others, 
because they have become my salvation. 



Here are two witnesses to the truth that one may glory 
in tribulation, quoted from letters received: — 

"Christ is all in all. I praise Him continually for 
what He is doing in my heart, and not only that, but for 
what He does for others. The way is not always easy ; 
but, praise the Lord, He is ever a present help in time 
of need. My courage is good in the Lord. Praise the 
Lord for His Spirit, that keeps me at all times! Praise 
the Lord, the anchor still holds!" 



"Praise God, the anchor holds! To-day I especially 
praise God for His keeping power. Thus far He has 
kept me from falling; and I know He will keep me in 
the future, because He has said He w r ould, and I am 
standing on His promises. I praise God for tempta- 
tions; for I become stronger with every temptation." 



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XVI 

ANOTHER REASON FOR REJOICING IN 
TRIBULATION 

There is still another reason for rejoicing in tribula- 
tion, which is the chief of all reasons. It is the reason 
which produces the highest type of rejoicing; it is the 
joy of heaven. Reader, would you not be satisfied with 
the joy that makes heaven rejoice? It is a reason for 
rejoicing from which all selfishness is separated. Here 
is the reason: — 

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all com- 
fort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we 
may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, 
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted 
of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, 
so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." 2 Cor. 

i:3-5. 

There is no joy so great as bringing comfort to the 
comfortless. It is the joy that brought Christ to earth. 
In announcing His mission He read this: "The Spirit 
of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath 
anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He 
hath sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to pro- 
claim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the 
prison to them that are bound; ... to comfort all 
that mourn.'' Isa. 61:1, 2. It was this joy that en- 
couraged the Lord along the path of suffering. "For 
the joy that was set before Him," He "endured the 
cross, despising the shame." Heb. 12:2. 



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77 



Reader, were you ever instrumental in bringing com- 
fort to a sorrowing heart? Were you ever used of the 
Lord to lift the burden of the guilt of sin from a heart 
that was being crushed in despair? If so, you shared in 
the joy of heaven. "I say unto you, that likewise joy 
shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more 
than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no 
repentance/' Luke 15 7. Did you ever see the shadow 
of a great secret sorrow driven from the face of a sin- 
ning man or woman by the bright beams of the Sun of 
Righteousness as He arose with healing in His wings? 
Have you ever been used of the Lord to bring hope and 
strength and victory to a discouraged, defeated, despair- 
ing daughter of the Most High? Have you ever de- 
livered a bruised, beaten, backslidden brother from the 
bondage of sin and death? If you are a stranger to all 
this, then there is a joy unspeakable that you may yet 
enjoy. But you can never share it until you have gotten 
an experience which will enable you to testify from per- 
sonal experience that God can do all this for the chief 
of sinners. 

And now since you are able to comfort others in their 
trouble only so far as you have experienced the fiery 
trials yourself, and come forth from them more than 
conqueror through Him that loved us, why should you 
think it strange concerning the fiery trials which are to 
try you, as though some strange thing had happened 
unto you? Why not rejoice that you are a partaker of 
Christ's sufferings, that you may be a partaker of His 
glory, which is none other than to bind up the broken- 
hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the 
comforting of all that mourn? Why should you mur- 
mur when you are tried, when you know only so far as 



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you have been tried and comforted are you able to com- 
fort them that are in any trouble? 

I want to witness here to the power of this truth in my 
own life. When it entered my heart, it brought a new 
joy and a new power to endure temptation. For the 
joy that is set before me of being better able to comfort 
all that mourn, I endure the cross, despising the shame, 
knowing that as the sufferings of Christ abound in me, 
so my consolation also abounds by Christ. When 
tempted to depart from the path of holiness, there 
passes before me the sinning, sorrowing multitude for 
which I will have no word of hope, no comforting mes- 
sage, if I fall under sin. For unless I am kept from 
falling, I shall be unable to tell others of His keeping 
power; for I am unable to tell with power any truth of 
the Word which is not made flesh and become a part of 
my life. The life is "the light of men." 

When I compare the enjoyment of sin for a season 
with the eternal, unspeakable joy of binding up the 
broken-hearted and comforting all that mourn, I say, 
"How can I sell such a birthright for a mess of pottage ?" 

Reader, can you not, and will you not from this time, 
rejoice in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh 
patience, patience experience, and experience hope, a 
hope that you will not be ashamed of, but will tell for 
the comfort and salvation of a sinning, sorrowing, suf- 
fering world? Forever remember, when you are in trial, 
that the trial is not alone for your good, that you may 
be a partaker of His holiness, but that you are suffering 
for the salvation of the whole sinning world; you are 
suffering trial that you may obtain an experience which 
you can tell for the salvation of sinning men. 

Therefore look beyond your own salvation while 



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suffering affliction. Look, like Jesus, to the joy set be- 
fore you of seeing others saved through your witness 
that the Lord is able to save to the uttermost. Forever 
remember that "as the sufferings of Christ abound in 
us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." 
2 Cor. 1:5. 



XVII 

FIRST A HOLY CHURCH, THEN THE HOLY GHOST 

The Holy Spirit, in His office of witness, as manifested 
on the day of Pentecost, belongs to, and is given to, the 
church. As lungs to breathing, so is the church to the 
Holy Ghost. It is true that it is the globule, or lung- 
cell, which receives the air; but God "fitly joined to- 
gether and compacted" these individual cells into lungs, 
before He breathed into them the breath of life; and 
thus fitly joined together, these cells perform a function 
which they could not perform separated. It is also true 
that the Holy Ghost is given to "each one," as on the 
day of Pentecost; but all must be of "one accord," or 
"fitly joined together" in one body, as was the church 
then, with the Achans and Judases cleansed out, before 
they can manifest the fulness of the witnessing power 
which God has given to the church. 

The church is the "habitation of God through the 
Spirit;" or, in other words, God inhabits the church by 
means of His representative, the Holy Spirit. The in- 
dividual members are all "fitly framed together" into 
"an holy temple," "for an habitation of God through the 
Spirit." Eph, 2:21, 22. And the gifts of the Spirit, 
which are the demonstrations of the power of the Holy 



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Spirit for service, for witnessing, are given to the 
church. "God hath set some in the church, first apostles, 
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that mir- 
acles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversi- 
ties of tongues." All these are gifts of the Spirit, and 
God hath set them in the church, i Cor. 12:28. 

Some will admit all this but say that it is the invisible 
church, or body of Christ, to whom the fulness of the 
Holy Spirit is given; that, therefore, a visible or organ- 
ized church is not necessary. But this is a mistake. It 
was a visible, organized church which received the power 
from on high on the day of Pentecost. It was a church 
which Christ had organized, but it w T as nevertheless 
organized and visible. Christ said, ''The gates of hell 
shall not prevail against" "My church;" and He shows 
the church to be a visible, responsible body, which can 
hear of the trespassing of obstinate members and speak 
authoritatively to such members. Matt. 18:15-18. 

The writer is positive that he is able to point out the 
church that God will use to manifest forth the fulness 
of His power. Reader, are you anxious to find that 
church? Here is a description of it: — 

"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans 
write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true 
witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know 
thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot; I would 
thou w 7 ert cold or hot. So then because thou art luke- 
warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of 
My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and in- 
creased with goods, and have need of nothing; and 
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and 
poor, and blind, and naked." Rev. 3:14-17. 

Reader, can you find the church described by this 



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81 



scripture? Do you know of a church that has a form of 
godliness without the power? Do you know of a church 
that is proud and worldly while claiming to be the true 
church of God? Is this church your church? Do you 
reply that you don't know of a church that is not in 
that condition? It isn't enough to be able to find such 
a church — that is easy. But can you find a church in 
that condition that will confess that they are in that con- 
dition? — not a church that has a few members in it "that 
sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done 
in the midst thereof/' — but a whole church that will 
acknowledge that they are in that condition? Until 
such a church is found or formed, it will be impossible 
for God to manifest to the world the fulness of the power 
from on high. 

When a church can be found that will acknowledge 
that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and 
blind, and naked, and will heed the exhortation that fol- 
lows, then we shall have found the church through 
whom God will manifest all the power of the Holy 
Ghost. "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the 
fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that 
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy 
nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with 
eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I 
rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. 
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear 
My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, 
and will sup with him, and he with Me." Rev. 3:18-20. 

The church that will accept this fearful rebuke, re- 
pent, and open the door to Jesus Christ in the person of 
the Holy Spirit, will have all its denominational pride 
cleansed away. And it is this pride which, as much as 

6 



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any other sin, is keeping the Holy Ghost from the 
church. 

From this we must deduct the solemn truth that we 
can not have a church of apostolic power until we have 
a church of apostolic purity. A church must be found 
or framed out of which all the Achans and Ananiases 
have been cleansed. 

If one Achan drove the power of God from "the 
church in the wilderness, ,, many Achans will surely 
keep the "power from on high" away from the church 
of to-day. What, then, shall be done? Shall we cease 
to seek God for the baptism of His Spirit because His 
fulness can not be realized until the church is cleansed? 
— God forbid. First seek the Lord for His Spirit to 
cleanse you, and then to use you to witness against the 
uncleanness of the church. By this means you will 
either cleanse the church or hear a call from the Spirit, 
saying, "Come out of her. My people, that ye be not 
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her 
plagues." 



XVIII 

A SPIRIT-FILLED MEMBER POSSIBLE BEFORE A 
SPIRIT-FILLED CHURCH 

While it is true that the fulness of the Spirit in the 
manifestation of all the gifts of the Spirit can not be 
realized until the body of Christ, the church, will put 
away sin and make room for that fulness; yet you, dear 
reader, as a Christian individual, may even now be 
filled with the Spirit. You need not wait until the 



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83 



whole church is clean before you can be clean, neither 
need you wait until the whole church is filled before you 
can be filled. But it is one thing to be Med with the 
Spirit, and it is quite another thing to manifest all the 
gifts of the Spirit, There are some of the gifts of the 
wSpirit that can not appear while the church is filled with 
pride and unbelief; but there are other gifts that can. 

The first manifestation of the Holy Ghost is to con- 
vince of sin. And if you are clean, or willing to be 
cleansed, from all the sins which fill the church, God 
will fill you with His Spirit, and make you a mighty 
witness against sin. 

The gift of prophecy can be manifested in the church, 
and sin be mightily rebuked, while the manifestation of 
the fulness of the Spirit in miracles of healing may be 
withheld. Our Saviour cites an example in the follow- 
ing words: "Many lepers were in Israel in the time of 
Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, 
saving Naaman the Syrian." Luke 4:27. Thus it is 
plain that a prophet may be present in the church on 
whom the mantle of Elijah has fallen with a double por- 
tion of his spirit, and that prophet, under the influence 
of the Spirit, may mightily rebuke sin, and at the same 
time the manifestation of the gifts of healing may be 
withheld from the "many lepers" in the church. 

Now these things are written to remove the impres- 
sion, so general, that as soon as one is filled with the 
Spirit, he will immediately speak with tongues, or open 
the eyes of the blind, or perform some other mighty 
miracle of healing. There are many who are waiting for 
these signs to appear before they w 7 ill believe that they 
can be filled with the Spirit. John the Baptist was 
"filled with the Holy Ghost" from his birth (Luke 1:15), 
and yet it is written "John did no miracle." 



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And here is manifested the mercy of God. A sin- 
filled church is not prepared for mighty miracles of heal- 
ing, unless a previous work can be accomplished for 
them; for the mighty miracles would only lead the 
church to commit the unpardonable sin. 



XIX 

MIRACLES AND THE SIN AGAINST THE 
HOLY GHOST 

The men who rejected John's message of repentance 
were among those who committed the unpardonable sin 
when "Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost/' — the same 
power which filled John,— revealed other manifestations 
of the Spirit and wrought mighty miracles of healing. 
It was over the miracles of healing wrought by our Lord 
that the leaders in the church committed the unpardon- 
able sin. By these miracles they w r ere compelled to take 
a position. They had tried to maintain a neutral posi- 
tion in regard to John's message. They neither re- 
pented of their sins nor openly denounced him. But 
now that they are in the presence of the miracles of 
Christ, and the people are deserting them to follow 
Jesus, they are compelled to take a position. But, not 
having walked in the light when the Holy Ghost 
through John called to repentance, they are wholly un- 
prepared to discern the source of the miracles when the 
Holy Ghost through Jesus opens the eyes of the blind 
and casts out devils. Hence they declare that the mir- 
acles are wrought "by Beelzebub, the prince of the 
devils." Matt. 12:24. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



85 



In thus speaking against the manifestation of the Holy 
Ghost, they rejected the final and only remaining effort 
that God could make for their salvation, the manifesta- 
tion of the Holy Ghost; and cut themselves off from 
salvation. If I refuse as poison the only remedy that 
can heal me, I have committed the unpardonable sin 
against my life, and I must die. So when the Jews re- 
jected as devilish the full and final display of the power 
of the Holy Spirit to save them from sin and death, they 
committed the unpardonable sin, and must perish in 
their sins. 

Thus it is plain that one may be filled with the 
Spirit, and witness in the power of the Spirit against sin, 
before the manifestation of the Spirit in miracles of heal- 
ing appears. 

Is it not also clear, dear reader, that you may be filled 
to do a work in the backslidden church before that church 
is prepared for the miracle-working of the Spirit, if the 
church is to be saved from the awful fate of committing 
the sin against the Holy Ghost? 

Is it not also clear, dear reader, that you may be filled 
with the Spirit, and witness with power for righteous- 
ness against sin, before the other manifestations of the 
Spirit in the gift of tongues and miracles of healing 
shall appear? Let us therefore continue to study how 
we may be filled with the Spirit and become a burning 
and shining light. 

It is possible for you to be so filled with the Spirit as 
to burn so warmly and shine so brightly as to cause the 
sinners in Zion to get right, or to get out, or to get you 
out. In any case the result will be a blessing. There 
will be a separation from sin. Backslidden Israel con- 
tinued to drive the Spirit-filled prophets out of the 



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church until they drove Christ to Calvary; and then of 
those who had been driven out of the synagogues He 
organized a new church, filled with the new wine of the 
kingdom, from which church the Holy Ghost was able 
to drive out hypocrites and keep them out God will 
have a clean church, whether it be one cleansed out as 
the result of confession or called out as the result of 
oppression. And the Lord wants you to be filled with 
the Spirit and begin now to burn and shine. 



XX 

FILLING AND FEELING 

Now that it is plain that the Lord wants to fill you 
with His Spirit, and that you need not wait for the whole 
church to be filled, let us come directly to the vital ques- 
tion of receiving. 

Bear in mind that you are now seeking the baptism of 
the Holy Ghost for service, not for self. When by the 
Spirit you were born again, you received a blessing 
primarily for yourself, for your own needs. And when 
the Spirit wrought in you to continue that new life and 
build up a character by mortifying the deeds of the 
body and giving you continual victory, this, too, was an 
operation of the Spirit for your own needs. You needed 
all this, first of all, for your own salvation; and second, 
as an experience through which you have a hope of sal- 
vation that you are not ashamed of, and not ashamed to 
tell. For certainly he who is not born of the Spirit is not 
prepared to witness for the Lord, nor is he who is not 
built up and upheld by the Spirit, qualified to witness for 
Him. He has nothing to witness, nothing to tell. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



87 



Thus we see that the work of the Spirit in conversion 
and in character-building is primarily for our own sal- 
vation and secondly for the salvation of others; but the 
baptism of the Spirit is primarily for service for the sal- 
vation of others. 

Of our Saviour's baptism with the Holy Ghost it is 
written, "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy 
Ghost and with power; who went about doing good" 
This anointing was not primarily for His own needs, not 
to enable Him to go about and be good, for He had been 
good all His life, but that He might go about "doing 
good" 

When the disciples were baptized on the day of Pente- 
cost, the Holy Ghost came not to convict them of sin. 
This the Spirit had already done. They did not spend 
the day in settling old grudges, for this had been accom- 
plished, if not before, at least in the ten days during 
which "all continued with one accord in prayer and sup- 
plication." Acts 1:14. So that the Holy Ghost did not 
come to convince them of sin, but to qualify them for 
service. "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, 
and began to speak" (Acts 2:4); not to supplicate for 
forgiveness; began to speak to the "amazed" "multitude," 
not to make confession one to another. 

Now that it is clear that you are to seek the baptism 
of the Holy Ghost for service in the salvation of sinners, 
when and where do you expect to experience that 
power? 

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with 
power at the river Jordan, but there was no visible man- 
ifestation of power at that time. There was the ap- 
pearance of a dove, but a dove is not a symbol of power. 
He was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, 



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POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



that He might go about doing good, but that power was 
not manifest until He "went about doing good/' 

The disciples were baptized on the day of Pentecost 
with power, and the accompanying manifestations of 
power were not to convince them that they w r ere baptized, 
but to qualify them for the zvork of that very hour. They 
did not spend the day in feeling; they spent the day in 
working. 

So we have not the feelings of the apostles, but the 
acts of the apostles. We have no record of how John or 
Christ or the disciples felt when they were baptized, but 
we do have a record of what they did when they were 
baptized. None of the disciples ever refer to how they 
felt or how they looked, and we believe that they were 
as oblivious of the personal effect of the baptism as was 
Moses after he came forth from his baptism in the flam- 
ing glory of Sinai. Of him it is written, "And when 
Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, 
the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come 
nigh him." But "Moses wist not that the skin of his 
face shone." Ex. 34:29, 30. 

All this is written to show that the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost is for practical service, and not for physical 
sensation. Whatever there be of the manifestation of 
tongues of fire or shining faces, these are not so much 
for the benefit of the shining saint as for the sinning 
multitude. 

There has been much noisy demonstration among a 
class who seem to think that the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost is primarily for the benefit of the receiver, to be 
enjoyed amid noisy demonstrations of feeling. But the 
threshing-machine is not run to make the threshing- 
machine feel good, but to thresh out the grain. When 



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89 



a farmer boy I noticed that the threshing-machine run- 
ning empty made more noise than when filled. I no- 
ticed that when the "feeder" ran out of grain, the driver 
hastened to halt the horses. The power was for thresh- 
ing the wheat, not for shaking the machine. I noticed 
when the machine w T as at work, the deafening rattle of 
empty machinery softened into a subdued song of 
service. 

The trouble with some of the teaching and practise 
on this important theme is that its advocates seem to 
think that the power was intended more for the machine 
than for the grain; consequently there has been much of 
what might be termed running empty. Power is never 
applied to threshing-machines except for threshing pur- 
poses, and in like manner power for service is never 
applied by the great Master-builder to His servants ex- 
cept when they are ready to serve and there is some one 
to serve. Don't ask the Lord to turn on the power and 
rattle the machinery to prove to you that the Lord will 
do what He has promised. 

But should we not wait for the sound of a mighty 
rushing wind or the sight of cloven tongues of fire? 
We should no more demand a second Pentecost to prove 
that the Holy Spirit is ours, than we should demand a 
second Calvary before believing that salvation from sin 
is ours. Just as "once in the end of the world" "He ap- 
peared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself," so 
once "in the last days" did the Lord fulfil His promise 
to pour out His Spirit "upon all flesh." And just as all 
men in all time can come and be cleansed in the blood 
of the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness "by 
Christ crucified" just so they can come and be filled with 
the living waters poured out on Pentecost by Christ 



90 POWER FOR WITNESSING. 

glorified. "In the last day, that great day of the feast, 
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him 
come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, 
as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow 
rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit 
which they that believe on Him should receive; for the 
Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was 
not yet glorified.)" John 7:37-39. 

And we should no more demand a repetition of the 
earthquake of Calvary before we would be cleansed with 
the blood, than we should demand a repetition of the 
rushing wind of Pentecost before we will be filled with 
the Spirit. 



XXI 

THE SPIRIT CALLS FOR CONSECRATION 

She was a young woman of prominent family, who 
had followed her convictions of Christian life and labor 
through self-denial, suffering, and reproach. She was 
sorely afflicted with tuberculosis and a complication of 
diseases; but with her little remaining strength she 
labored to bless a sinning world in mansion, in mission, 
and in prison cell. 

She hungered for more power for holy living and 
labor. She heard the message, "Receive ye the Holy 
Ghost," and earnestly sought the necessary cleansing. 
From faith to faith she followed on to know the Lord, 
until her mind became exercised concerning healing. 
She was instructed to continue to pray and study the 
Scripture promises concerning healing, and if faith came, 
to call for the elders. 



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91 



Later she called for prayer, and an hour was appointed 
for the solemn service. The doctor had the .day before 
declared that her lungs were badly affected with tuber- 
culosis. When the hour arrived, and all was in readi- 
ness, one minister started to ask her the question, "Now, 
sister, if the Lord does not heal you, will the disappoint- 
ment drive you into discouragement?" She stopped the 
minister in the middle of the question, and said in calm 
confidence, "Don't say 'if;' the Lord will heal me." 
Those present quickly perceived that she had faith to be 
healed, and without further delay they knelt to pray for 
healing. Only a few sentences of prayer had been of- 
fered, when the Spirit of God came upon her, and for 
four hours she was under His control. During this 
time there was accomplished a marvelous work of heal- 
ing, pruning, and consecration. The healing power of 
God was remarkably perceptible as it moved from one 
diseased organ to another, accomplishing a most won- 
derful work of healing, which, from my personal knowl- 
edge, has been permanent ever since; the recipient of the 
great blessing pouring out her restored life and ever- 
springing health in a ceaseless ministry of loving labor 
for the unrighteous and unlovely. 

But it is not for the marvelous manifestation of heal- 
ing and filling by the Holy Ghost that this witness is 
introduced here, but for the faith which brought it and 
the cleansing and consecration that accompanied it. Oh, 
that every reader of this could have witnessed the dis- 
pleasure manifested by the Spirit on this occasion 
against all conformity to the world in the wearing of 
gold or display in dress. When this part of the experi- 
ence was over, our sister did not possess a hat or dress 
plain enough to meet her enlightened views on the plain- 
ness and simplicity of dress. 



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Now followed a most touching and impressive experi- 
ence. After lying quiet for a time, the young woman 
was heard to say in confiding, whispered tones, "Any- 
where, anywhere, everywhere." Several times these 
words w 7 ere repeated, each time with louder tones and 
added emphasis. When, later, the meaning of these 
w r ords was explained, it was learned that after she was 
healed and pruned, the Lord tested her love and willing- 
ness to labor for Him anywhere and everywhere, by 
presenting before her mind in quick succession the dark 
outline maps of Mexico, South America, and South 
Africa. 

Oh, how much it means to surrender all to God, and 
pray for the healing or the baptism of the Holy Spirit! 
Many would like to receive power from on high if only 
they could manage that power. But let it be understood 
once and forever that he who seeks to be filled by the 
Holy Ghost, must yield unqualified obedience to the 
teaching and directing of the Spirit. 

He may never be led beyond the neighborhood work 
of a humble home, but there must be a willingness to be 
anything or do anything or to go anywhere or nowhere 
as the Lord may lead. Paul preferred to witness in 
Jerusalem and work for the Jews, but the Lord wanted 
him to go "far hence unto the Gentiles/' and to the Gen- 
tiles he went. In later years he and his company wanted 
to preach in Asia, but "were forbidden of the Holy 
Ghost to preach the Word in Asia/' and when they 
essayed to go into Bithynia "the Spirit suffered them 
not." "And after he had seen the vision, immediately 
we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gather- 
ing that the Lord had called us for to preach the gos- 
pel unto them." 



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But the Spirit that ever leads never leaves. "I will 
pray the Father, and He shall give you another Com- 
forter, that He may abide with you forever;" and there 
is "peace and joy in the Holy Ghost/' whether it be in 
palace or prison, native land or darkest Africa. He 
who is "walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the com- 
fort of the Holy Ghost," can walk into prison or jungle 
amid pain and pestilence and still rejoice in the "peace 
and joy in the Holy Ghost." 

Oh, the blessedness of complete surrender! Oh, the 
light and joy in the leading of the Spirit! Reader, sur- 
render, and let Him lead you. 

There's a night in self-assertion 

Like the night of Egypt's wrath, 
But the sunshine of surrender 

Sheds a light o'er all the path. 
There's a strife in self-assertion 

Like the storm-tossed breakers' crest; 
There's a peace in consecration 

Like a waveless ocean's rest. 



XXII 

"THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT" 

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
being made a curse for us; . . . jthat the blessing 
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus 
Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit 
through faith" 

How, then, shall I know that I have received the 
power from on high for witnessing, if I am not to base 
my belief on some physical sensation? If I am not to 



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feel that I am filled before I am to believe I am filled, 
how am I to know that I am filled? What do you want 
me to do? And what do you mean by "receive ye the 
Holy Ghost"? What constitutes receiving the Holy 
Ghost? Will there be any difference in my life and 
labor after I receive the Holy Ghost than before? I 
don't want to be presumptuous; I don't want to say that 
I have something when I haven't. I don't want to de- 
ceive myself, These are some of the thoughts which 
come rushing into the mind at this point. 

How did you learn that your sins were forgiven? 
Did you accept it by faith or by sight? Do you base 
your faith that you are forgiven on some physical sign, 
or do you base it on the naked Word of God? If you 
have not learned to "walk by faith, not by sight," you 
will have to learn it before you can "receive the promise 
of the Spirit through faith" If your belief rests on 
signs and wonders, you are yet in the kindergarten class. 
You are still a babe in Christ. Christ said to doubting 
Thomas, "Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou 
hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and 
yet have believed." John 20:29. 

God will receive babes into a kindergarten class, and 
teach them with visible blocks and sticks; but He wants 
them to hasten to graduate out of the kindergarten class 
of signs and sight into the first reader of faith. When 
Israel left Egypt, they were a great kindergarten class, 
and the work of the Lord in teaching them for forty 
years was to get them to believe His Word before they 
saw the wonders. But few of them ever entered the 
first grade of faith. "So we see that they could not 
enter in because of unbelief." 

An old man of eighty years, who had been recently 



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converted, arose in a revival meeting, and, with face 
beaming with joy, told how the Lord had pardoned all 
his sins; how he had lived a profane, wicked life for 
seventy-nine years, and how the Lord had, at the 
eleventh hour, forgiven all his sins. And then he gave 
his proof. He said when he saw himself a sinner, and 
that he had sinned so long, it seemed impossible to be- 
lieve that the Lord would pardon so great a sinner, and 
so he asked the Lord to show him a sign; that if he was 
really forgiven, the Lord would remove a large wen 
above his temple. With moistened eyes he declared 
that the Lord had done it; and pointed to the scar as 
proof. And with a burst of joy he declared his thank- 
fulness to God. I did not hesitate to rejoice with him, 
for I said to myself, He is only a babe in Christ. He is 
in the kindergarten class. But the time will come when 
the Lord will ask him to believe without a sign; when 
He will call on him to transfer his faith from the root of 
a wen to the rock of His Word, 

Reader, how did you gain the victory over that beset- 
ting sin? If you haven't the victory, you are not yet 
prepared for the reception of the Spirit for witnessing, 
for you have nothing worth telling. If you have the 
victory, how did you obtain it? Did you not go to the 
Lord in your weakness, and acknowledge your sins, and 
ask Him to keep you from falling? Did you not then 
accept His promise to keep you, before you saw any 
sign that you were kept? Did you not accept the for- 
giveness of your sins because the Lord in His Word 
promised that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and 
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all 
unrighteousness"? i John 1:9. Did you not base your 
faith on His promise rather than on your feelings? 



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Did you not accept the keeping power because the Lord 
in His Word says, ''God is faithful, who will not suffer 
you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with 
the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may 
be able to bear it"? i Cor. 10:13. Did you not base 
your faith on His promise rather than on your feelings? 
Was not your joy on being forgiven and kept the result 
of believing, rather than your believing the result of your 
joy? "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and 
peace in believing!' Rom 15:13. 

Can you not see that peace and joy and all other 
promised blessings come to us "in believing'' not in our 
unbelief? If God should grant peace and joy before we 
believed, while we were still in unbelief, it would make 
us peaceful and joyful unbelievers. But peace and joy 
are not for those still in unbelief. They are for the be- 
lievers. They are the fruits of the Spirit already re- 
ceived by faith, not material out of which faith for receiv- 
ing the Spirit is made. 

And again, if you were filled with the Spirit before 
you received the promise by faith, would you not be a 
Spirit-filled unbeliever? Can you not see that the Spirit 
for service must come in response to faith, just as for- 
giveness or victory over temptation came in response 
to faith? 

Should a sinner come to you to ask the way to for- 
giveness of sin, would you not point him to the promise, 
and ask him to believe it, even before he felt he w r as for- 
given? And if he came again under great temptation, 
would you not point him to the promise, and ask him to 
accept deliverance by faith, before he felt the deliverance? 

Now, that you are seeking to be filled with the Spirit 
that you may serve as a powerful witness for God, do 



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you not think you had better take your own treatment? 
Should you not believe God's promise to fill you before 
you demand to see the signs which follow a Spirit-filled 
life? 

"We walk by faith, not by sight." And that means 
all the way. Reader, when you are called upon to walk 
a step farther in the path of faith, will you not take that 
step by faith? 

"Without faith it is impossible to please Him." 



"All eternity will not be too long," writes a corre- 
spondent, "for me to praise Him for the mighty and 
wonderful deliverance wrought in my life since the first 
Sabbath you talked to us here. I think it was March 25, 
and, having that day received indubitable evidence that 
I had been born into the kingdom of God, I shall hence- 
forth regard it as my spiritual birthday. 

"I now realize what is meant by the 'obedience of 
faith." It is not worked out by my own will-power. It 
is the result of taking each promise of God as an actual 
fulfilment. In the exercise of this new kind of obedi- 
ence/ new for me, at any rate, I am continually coming 
off more than conqueror over my besetments. In these 
conflicts I am the engine of war, but the force impelling 
it flows from the Source of everlasting strength. 

"Truly in my case has the Lord been changing each 
weakness into power; and in all truth and soberness, my 
brother, I say, / know that of all professing the name of 
Christ with whom I have ever been brought into con- 
tact, I have been the weakest of the weak. Now, how- 
ever, day by day, this condition is changing radically, 
and I am becoming 'strong in the Lord, and in the 
power of His might.' The citadel of my heart is now 



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in the possession of the Holy Spirit, and Satan is at last 
outside its walls. Jesus knocks no longer for admission. 
He is inside already. The tables are now turned, and 
Satan stands without and knocks, but, glory to the cross 
of Calvary, let him knock in vain forever! The lan- 
guage of earth is inadequate to give vent to my joy and 
sense of freedom, — the glorious liberty of the children 
of God! And being Christ's freeman, who dare make 
me a slave again?" 



XXIII 
HOW TO FIND FAITH 

Since it is by faith that we receive the promise of the 
Spirit, and since "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing 
by the Word of God," the only way to get sufficient 
faith to grasp the promise of the Spirit, is to hear what 
the Word of God promises concerning the Spirit. 

In the first place the Word of God says: "Know ye 
not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost 
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not 
your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore 
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are 
God's." I Cor. 6:19, 20. 

The life which you now have is of God. And the 
very fact that you are kept alive by the Spirit of God is 
evidence of God's love. Were it not for the sacrifice of 
Christ, the wages of sin, which is death, would long 
since have been demanded. But the Lord desires that 
we shall have more than what we term natural life, and 
more than a new existence in the spiritual life. Says 
Christ, "I am come that they might have life, and that 



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they might have it more abundantly" John 10:10. It 
is the more abundant life that we are now seeking. It is 
the overflow of life, it is the outflow of the "rivers of 
living water," we are searching for. John 7:37-39. 

Remember the Word of God says that "ye are bought 
with a price," that "ye are not your own." Remember also 
that the same Word says that "your body is the temple of 
the Holy Ghost." Therefore your body was bought for the 
very purpose of being a temple of the Holy Ghost. There- 
fore, if you do not have that more abundant life, that 
filling of the Spirit, that overflowing fountain of 
life, the plan of God concerning you has not been met. 
For He bought you for a well-spring of His Spirit. 

Let us illustrate by a conversation between the gov- 
ernor of a great state and his aristocratic neighbor. 

Neighbor — Governor, I hear you have purchased that 
old rookery at the corner of Twenty-first Street and 
Broadway. What are you going to do with it? Are 
you going to start a hennery? 

Governor — No, neighbor. I am going to live in that 
house. 

N. — What, live in that house! Don't you know that 
that house is swarming with vermin from cellar to 
garret? 

G. — Yes, I know it, but I will destroy the vermin. 

N. — But, Governor, you can not mean that you are 
really going to live in that old rookery. Don't you 
know that the walls are all disfigured with obscene 
pictures? 

G. — Yes, I looked them all over. But I will erase the 
indecent pictures and embellish its walls with pictures 
of virtue and beauty. 

N. — Now, Governor, I must be plain with you: that 



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house is a house of ill-fame; and if you move into it, it 
will cost you your reputation. 

G.—I knew all that and more when I bought it. But 
it will not be a house of ill-fame when I move into it. 
By living an honorable life in that house, I shall give it 
a new reputation. That house was the home of my 
noble father; but it fell into wicked hands and lost its 
good name; but I, his son, have purchased that old resi- 
dence on purpose to live in it and redeem its good name. 
I am not afraid of losing my reputation. Only its tar- 
nished reputation will suffer. I have a sufficient reputa- 
tion among the good people of my state, as an upright 
man, to restore to the old homestead an honorable name. 

Reader, you will find this truth told in Titus 3:1-6. 
It was not because of the works of righteousness which 
we had done that we received the renewing of the Holy 
Ghost. The Lord purchased us after a thorough inspec- 
tion. He purchased us and purchased us to live in us 
by His Holy Spirit, after beholding all the ruin that sin 
had made. He has not been surprised at our sinfulness; 
but He has been pained that we would not submit to 
"the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy 
Ghost." 

Do not ever again think that the baptism of the 
Spirit is a kind of expensive extra, outside of the great 
plan of God for our salvation. This indwelling and out- 
flowing promise of the Spirit is as much yours accord- 
ing to the plan of salvation as the forgiveness of sins. 
It hangs on the same stem of faith as all the other 
blessings — "He that believeth on Me." John 7:38, 39. 

Now, dear reader, never again doubt the Lord's will- 
ingness to make you an overflowing fountain. If you 
want to see how anxious He is to dwell in you by His 



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101 



Spirit, go to Gethsemane and see your Saviour crushed 
to earth by the sin of the world, and hear Him cry, "If 
this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, 
Thy will be done;" and remember that all this was paid 
for you that you might be filled with the Spirit. Hear 
Him again, as, nailed to the cross, He cries, "My God, 
My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" and when the 
spear point pierces His side and He pours out the blood 
of a broken heart, — remember that this was done that 
you might be filled with the Spirit. "Receive ye the 
Holy Ghost. ,, 



XXIV 

THE HOLY GHOST THE VICEGERENT OF CHIRST 

It is night in Jerusalem, the saddest night since sin 
separated man from God. The city is thronged with 
worshipers from all the world. It is the feast of the 
Passover. The Lord and His disciples in the upper 
room have eaten the paschal lamb. The lamb of "that 
great day" has met the Lamb of God. Type has touched 
antitype. The Son of God, from the throne of the uni- 
verse, has girded Himself as a servant, and, kneeling 
before sinful men, has bathed their feet with His own 
immaculate hands. He has eaten of the broken bread, 
and drunk of the poured-out wine, the symbols of His 
suffering- and death. Only a few minutes separate the 
scene of the upper room from the struggle of the garden. 
Only a few minutes now between the blood on the door- 
post and the blood on the brow T . 

For a little while the Shepherd is with His sheep. 



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Soon they will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep will 
be scattered. What momentous moments! Weighty, 
indeed, is every word spoken now. 

He asks the traitor to hasten and retire, and when he 
is gone, He speaks thus: — 

" Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye 
shall seek Me, and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I 
go, ye can not come; so now I say to you." 

Simon Peter — ''Lord, whither goest Thou?" 

The Lord — "Whither I go, thou canst not follow Me 
now; but thou shalt follow Me afterwards." 

Peter — "Lord, why can not I follow Thee now? I 
will lay down my life for Thy sake." 

This announcement of His departure brought sorrow 
to the hearts of the disciples. They were troubled. 
They had never thought of being separated from Him. 
They had separated from honored Pharisees, from 
friends, and from family, from everything and from 
everybody, that they might be with their Lord. Now 
He is going away. Their hearts are troubled. 

"Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God, 
believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many 
mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I 
go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare 
a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto 
Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." 

Precious promise! blessed hope! But this did not 
heal the heartache. No promise of mansions to come can 
take the place of a present Saviour. 

But what will we do when He is gone? It will be 
lonely when He is away, they thought. 

I was in a mission in New York. It was when the 
Klondike excitement was at its height. The leader of 



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103 



the meeting made reference to it, and exhorted his 
hearers to seek first the kingdom of God. A testimony 
meeting followed. One man said he had no home on 
Fifth Avenue, but that he had a home on high, and that 
he hoped some day to see it. Another said he could 
not get to the Klondike to gather gold, but that the 
streets before his heavenly mansion were paved with 
gold, and he longed to behold their glittering glory. 
Another said his home was plainly furnished, but that 
his mansion on high was richly decorated, and he longed 
to see its polished floors and pictured walls. 

Just then a man arose with labored effort. He was 
twitching in every muscle; he had sown to the flesh, and 
was reaping a sad harvest of physical ruin. I pitied 
him, and thought, "Why did not some one who knew 
him prevent him from bringing mortification to himself 
and to his hearers ?" I could not endure to look at him. 
The sight was too painful. But as he spoke his muscles 
grew steady. When 1 turned to look at him again, his 
face flashed forth the light of heaven, and he said: "One 
year ago I was a poor drunkard, staggering from saloon 
to saloon, trading my lead-pencils for rum. I was 
steeped in drink and sin; but while in that condition my 
Saviour found me, and saved me from it all. And now 
you may talk of wanting to see your mansions on high 
with their costly furnishings and streets of gold, but I 
long to see the face of the Son of God, who saved me, 
and washed me clean in His own blood/' 

No promise of mansions will supply the place of that 
Saviour in the heart of the sinner whom He has saved 
from his sins. 

Oh, the joy of those mansions is Jesus, 
Without Him they're barren and cold! 

Oh, the joy of those mansions is Jesus, 
I hunger His face to behold! 



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The promise of mansions did not satisfy the mourning 
disciples. The mansions will be grand, but. oh, how 
lonesome while we wait! Who will take His place 
while we wait? Who will be with us and comfort us 
when He is gone? 

"I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another 
Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the 
Spirit of Truth; whom the world can not receive, be- 
cause it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye 
know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in 
you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to 
you." John 14:16-18. 

Glorious comfort! But still their hearts were trou- 
bled. Who would meet the cunning questions of the 
Pharisees? Oh, that we might remember the words of 
truth with which He met their subtle errors! 

"The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the 
Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all 
things, and bring all things to your remembrance, 
whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26. 

Blessed promise! But what shall we do with the sick 
and suffering? "When fathers and mothers and brothers 
and sisters come bringing their sick and suffering, and 
ask for the healing touch of the Masters hands, how 
shall we answer their pleading cries? 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on 
Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater 
works than these shall he do, because I go unto the 
Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that 
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 
If ye shall ask Me anything in My name, that will I do. 
If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments. " John 
14:12-15, R. V. 



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Wonderful promise! But how shall we convince the 
world of sin in not believing on Him, when He is gone? 
And how shall we convince them that He whom they 
can not see is able to forgive sins and grant them right- 
eousness? How shall we convince them of the final 
judgment and vindication of His cause over the prince 
of this world? Who will believe our testimony con- 
cerning the life and death and triumphant ascension to 
the right hand of God, of one whom they never saw T and 
can not see? 

It does not seem to them expedient that He should go 
away where He could not appear as a living witness to 
all men, to confirm that which was taught concerning 
Him and His salvation. They could see no light in His 
going away, and their hearts were still filled with sor- 
row, when He said: — 

"Because I have said these things unto you, sorrow 
hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the 
truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go 
not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if 
I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is 
come, He will convict [R. V.] the world of sin, and of 
righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they be- 
lieve not on Me; of righteousness, because I go to My 
Father, and ye see Me no more; of judgment, because 
the prince of this world is judged." "Ye shall receive 
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and 
ye shall be witnesses unto Me, both in Jerusalem and in 
all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part 
of the earth/' John 16:6-11; Acts 1:8. 

Reader, do you sometimes feel like an orphan in this 
cold world? Do you wish that He who comforted all 
that mourn was here as He was in the home of Mary 



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and Martha and Lazarus to bring comfort and joy and 
healing, to your life? Then receive ye the Holy Ghost, 
that other Comforter. "I will pray the Father, and He 
shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide 
with you forever. ... I will not leave you com- 
fortless; I will come to you.' v 

Do you hunger for truth? Do you sometimes wish 
you might sit at His feet and be taught the Scriptures as 
Mary did in her home in Bethany? ''Receive ye the 
Holy Ghost.'" "When He the Spirit of Truth,, is come, 
He will guide ycu into all truth. For He shall not 
speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that 
shall He speak; and He will show you things to come. 
He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of {fine, and 
shall show it unto you." John 16:13, 14. 

Do you hunger for power to convict the world of the 
sinfulness of sin, of the gift of righteousness, and the 
final and glorious vindication of the Prince of Peace 
over the prince of this world? Then receive ye the 
promised power from on high, that other Comforter; for 
the Lord has promised that He shall do all this. 

Let us illustrate by supposing a possible scene. It is 
the ninth day, the day before Pentecost. Peter and 
John have left the praying company for a few minutes, 
and are walking pensively down the street to buy bread 
for their companions. Suddenly they confront a priest, 
who recognizes them and addresses them thus: — 

"Well, well, if here isn't Peter and John. How glad 
I am to see you, and to know that at last you are free 
from that awful delusion. 

Peter — What delusion? 

Priest — The delusion that the Nazarene was the Mes- 
siah. 



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Peter — What makes you think that we are free from 
that so-called delusion? 

Priest — I should think you would be, now that He is 
dead. 

Peter — Dead! no indeed, He isn't. He is resurrected, 
and is alive forevermore. 

Priest — Nonsense. He is dead, for I saw Him die. 
That resurrection story is a fraud. You, His deluded 
disciples, came by night and stole His body, and now 
circulate the lying report that He rose from the dead. 
This I hear from the most influential people in the 
church and state. Why continue the fraud? No one 
will believe your story. 

Peter— Fraud! there is no fraud. He is risen. I saw 
Him, and ate with Him, and talked with Him, and so 
have we all. He is not only risen, but ascended to the 
right hand of God, whence He came. I saw Him as- 
cend. He is not dead. He is alive, — alive forevermore. 

Priest — Delusion upon delusion! Falsehood upon 
falsehood! Ascended — never! He is dead forevermore. 

Peter — That is false. He is — 

John — Peter, don't tarry here; let us hasten on. 
When we are alone, I will tell you what impresses me 
deeply. And this it is, Peter. We can make no im- 
pression upon the priest until the Holy Ghost is come. 
Rememberest thou not how He spake while He was yet 
with us, saying: "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, un- 
til ye be endued with power from on high"? And, "Ye 
shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come 
upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me." "Never- 
theless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that 
I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not 
come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto 



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you. And when He is come, He will convince the world 
of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, be- 
cause they believe not on Me; of righteousness, because I go 
to My Father, and ye see Me no more; of judgment, be- 
cause the prince of this world is judged"? 

Let us return to the upper room and wait for the 
promise of the Spirit. Did you not see how powerless 
you were to convict the priest? Oh, how helpless we 
are! Let us return,, and pray more earnestly for the 
promised power. 

''And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they 
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly 
there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty 
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as 
of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all 
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with 
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. . . . 
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came 
together, and were confounded. . . . and they were 
all amazed and marveled. v ' Acts 2:1-7. 

I can easily think of that stubborn priest hurrying 
with the surging multitude to the place of power. 
can see him pressing his way through the eager crowd 
until he finds himself at the very feet of Peter, who is 
just saying with a strange, convincing power: — 

"Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of 
the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, 
and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore 
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with 
an oath to him. that of the fruit of his loins, according 
to the flesh. He would raise up Christ to sit on His 
throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection 



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of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His 
flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised 
up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by 
the right hand of God exalted, and having received of 
the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed 
forth this, w T hich ye now see and hear. For David is 
not ascended into the heavens; but he saith himself, The 
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, un- 
til I make Thy foes Thy footstool. Therefore let all the 
house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that 
same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ." 
Acts 2:29-36. 

And now I see this same priest (for "a great company 
of the priests w T ere obedient to the faith") listening, 
startled, silent, and subdued, until Peter reaches this 
point; and then I hear him, pricked in his heart, with 
earnestness cry out, "Men and brethren, what shall we 
do?" 

Reader, can you not see that what is needed to-day to 
silence the scoffer, to convict of sin and of righteousness, 
to prove the resurrection, and to point out Jesus at the 
right hand of God, is the Holy Ghost from on high? 

Another promise to you that you may receive the gift 
of the Holy Ghost, the same pow T er that moved the mul- 
titude on the morning of Pentecost, is found in Peter's 
answer, thus: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, 
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the 
promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all 
that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God 
shall call." Acts 2:38, 39. 



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XXV 

THE HOLY GHOST A GIFT 

Peter told the wicked men who had crucified Christ, 
that if they would repent and be baptized in the name of 
Christ for the remission of sins, they, even they, should 
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; receive that power 
which so mightily moved the multitude on that pente- 
costal morning. But it must be received as a gift. 
Certainly those wicked men had not earned the greatest 
gift God can bestow. Neither could they earn the gift 
by repentance, nor by baptism. 

Even repentance and forgiveness of sins, — yes, from 
repentance to regeneration and the renewal of the Holy 
Ghost, all, all are gifts from God. "Him hath God ex- 
alted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, 
for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins/ } 
Acts 5:31. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; 
and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of 
works, lest any man should boast." Eph. 2:8, 9. 

Reader, how did you come to repent? The Lord 
gave you repentance, did He? That is right. And you 
received it as a gift? You did not earn it, did you? 
No, you received it wholly as a gift. How did you re- 
ceive forgiveness of sins? The Lord gave it to you, did 
He? That is right, too. And you simply asked for it, 
and accepted it as a merciful gift from God. How did 
you obtain the victory over that strong temptation, that 
besetting sin? You received it as a gift, did you? Yes, 
"thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through 
our Lord Jesus Christ/' 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



Ill 



Reader, don't you think that after receiving so many 
gifts from God, you ought to be accustomed to receiv- 
ing gifts, so that you could receive the gift of the Holy 
Ghost? 

Do not think of offering the Lord anything for this 
gift, for this would only show how little you appreciated 
the gift. In the first place, you have nothing to give. 
You yourself belong to God. "Ye are not your own; 
for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in 
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Your 
attempt to pay the Lord for the gift would only show 
that you did not recognize the truth that you and all you 
have are already His. This is the terrible mistake 
which Simon Magus made w T hen he offered to donate 
to the cause in payment for the gift of the Spirit. "But 
Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, be- 
cause thou hast thought that the gift of God may be 
purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot 
in this matter; for thy heart is not right in the sight of 
God." Acts 8:20, 21. 

That one pleases the Lord who esteems the gift of the 
Holy Ghost so highly that he never thinks of purchas- 
ing it with prayers or good works, but who simply re- 
ceives the gift, and thanks the Lord for it. 

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. "He 
that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for 
us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all 
things?" The gift of the Spirit is one of the all things 
which God gave us when He gave His Son. And this 
gift has been on deposit for us all the time, awaiting our 
demand and reception. Why not with Him freely re- 



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ceive "all things/' which include the "gift of the Holy 
Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your chil- 
dren, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the 
Lord our God shall call." Acts 2:38, 39. 



XXVI 

PRAYING FOR THE SPIRIT 

It is not enough to recognize that there "be an Holy 
Ghost," it is not enough to recognize our need of the 
Spirit, neither is it enough to recognize that the Spirit 
is our birthright, nor the Lord's great willingness to 
give us His Spirit. Not one nor all of these will bring 
the baptism. The Lord wants us to recognize all this, 
and then He wants us to "ask Him" for the promised 
power. It is an old saying, and true as old, that any- 
thing that is worth having is worth asking for, and 
especially is it true in this connection. 

He who is not sufficiently acquainted with the prom- 
ise of the Spirit to desire it, is not qualified to become 
a channel for the gift, because he would not recognize 
the nature nor source of the pow r er. And he whose 
knowledge of the nature and source of this great gift 
does not lead him to ask for the gift, would not appre- 
ciate it if he did receive it. And our perseverance in 
prayer for this gift will be measured by our appreciation 
of it. 

But while it is clear from the nature of the case, that 
we should pray definitely for the promised Spirit, yet 
we are plainly exhorted by the Word of God to ask for 
the Holy Ghost, and to ask with importunity, — with 
pressing urgency. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 113 



In Luke 11:5-13 our Saviour presents the following 
parable, with its application, to impress the need of ear- 
nest prayer for the Holy Spirit. That the parable is 
given for this purpose is plain from the last sentence of 
the Lord's application of the parable, as follows : ^ And 
He said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, 
and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, 
Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his 
journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before 
him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble 
me not; the door is now shut, and my children are with 
me in bed; I can not rise and give thee. I say unto you, 
Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his 
friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and 
give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, 
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; 
knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one 
that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and 
to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall 
ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him 
a stone? or if he ask a fish, w T ill he for a fish give him a 
serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a 
scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children; how much more shall 
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that 
ask Him?" 

Reader, are you anxious to feed your friends spiritual 
food? Do you feel your poverty keenly? Does your 
lack of bread pain you in the presence of hungry souls? 
Do you long for bread to feed the famishing? Just in 
proportion as you long to feed the hungry , just in that 
proportion will you plead for power from on high; just 
in that proportion will you importune in prayer for the 

8 



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ER FOR JVITXESSIXG. 



Holy Spirit until you receive as many loaves as you 
need. Then ask Him. Ask Him with importunity. 

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts 
unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly 
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him!' 



XXVII 

THE LAYING ON OF HANDS 

The laying on of hands in connection with the receiv- 
ing of the Holy Spirit, is plainly taught in the Scrip- 
tures. Paul presents it as a pan of the teaching of the 
gospel, — a teaching which follows the teaching of bap- 
tism. It is presented as one of the "first principles." 

"Wherefore let us cease to speak of the first principles 
of Christ and press on unto perfection; not laying again 
a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of 
faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, and of 
laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and 
of eternal judgment/' Heb. 6:1. 2. R. V. 

The laying on of hands in Paul's teaching occupies 
the same place as the receiving of the Holy Spirit in 
Peters teaching. Both follow baptism. 

"Then Peter said unto them. Repent, and be baptized 
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the re- 
mission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Ghost." Acts 2:38. 

The practise of the apostles is in harmony with this 
teaching. 

"But when they [the Samaritans] believed Philip 
preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



115 



and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both 
men and women." 

"Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem 
heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they 
sent unto them Peter and John; who, when they were 
come down, prayed for them, that they might receive 
the Holy Ghost (for as yet He was fallen on none of 
them; only they were baptized in the name of the Lord 
Jesus). Then laid they their hands on them, and they 
received the Holy Ghost." Acts 8:12-17. 

It seems strange that it is not apparent to all that the 
Lord has ordained that the Holy Ghost shall be received 
through the laying on of hands. Even Simon the sor- 
cerer saw that. 

"And when Simon saw that through laying on of the 
apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered 
them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on 
whomsoever I lay hands, he shall receive the Holy 
Ghost." Acts 8:18, 19. 

"And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Cor- 
inth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came 
to Ephesus; and finding certain disciples, he said unto 
them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye be- 
lieved? And they said unto him, We have not so much 
as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he 
said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? 
And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, 
John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, 
saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him 
which should come after him, that is, on Christ. When 
they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the 
Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon 
them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake 
with tongues, and prophesied." Acts 19:1-6. 



116 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



While it is true that "through laying on of the apos- 
tles' hands the Holy Ghost was given/' it is also true tfiat 
without the laying on of hands the Holy Ghost was 
given. Though Christ was baptized in water by the 
hands of John, yet he received the baptism of the Spirit 
directly from God. The apostles were all baptized with 
the Spirit on the day of Pentecost without the laying on 
of human hands. Cornelius and his household were 
baptized with the Holy Ghost without the laying on of 
human hands. Acts 10:44-48. 

But these are all exceptional cases, and only show 
that God does give His Spirit independent of the laying 
on of human hands. They do not in any way militate 
against the general rule. Just as in this last case the 
Lord baptized with the Holy Ghost before water-bap- 
tism, though His general plan, as stated through Peter, 
was to baptize with the Spirit after water-baptism; just 
so the Lord did baptize with the Holy Spirit without the 
laying on of human hands, though the general practise 
was that through "laying on of the apostles' hands the 
Holy Ghost was given." 

It is evident in the case of the Gentiles of the house 
of Cornelius, that the Lord baptized them with the Holy 
Ghost before baptism by water and without the laying 
on of hands, simply because there was no one who was 
prepared to do it. The astonishment manifested by those 
of the circumcision that God should baptize the Gen- 
tiles at all, was evidence that they would not have bap- 
tized them with water, or laid hands on them to receive 
the Holy Ghost. This is further proven by the fact that 
before Peter administered water-baptism, he anticipated 
and met all protests by asking, "Can any man forbid 
water, that these should not be baptized, which have re- 
ceived the Holy Ghost as well as we?" 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



117 



While it is true that through laying on of the apostles' 
hands the Holy Ghost was given, and that this is God's 
plan, it is also true that this most solemn service is but 
a hollow mockery where there is but the form without 
the power. Unless he who would lay on hands has 
apostolic power and the candidate apostolic preparation, 
better trust to God to baptize w T ith His Spirit in His own 
time without human hands, as He certainly did and cer- 
tainly will. John was prepared to baptize our Lord 
with water, but not with the Holy Ghost Philip, the 
evangelist, was qualified to do "miracles and signs" and 
to baptize with water, but it was "through laying on of 
the apostles' hands " that "the Holy Ghost was given." 

God will and does hear the cry of those who are con- 
secrated, and gives them His Spirit in these days of 
unbelief in high places, without the laying on of hands, 
just as in these days of unbelief in healing He hears the 
cries of the afflicted and heals without the laying on of 
hands, though the Lord declares of those that believe, 
"They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall re- 
cover." Mark 16:18. 



XXVIII 

u BELIEVE THAT YE RECEIVE" 

It is not enough to submit to the cleansing blood ; it 
is not enough to consecrate that which is cleansed to the 
Cleanser; it is not enough to call upon Him with im- 
portunity. All this may be done, and you may still fail 
to "receive the promise of the Spirit," because, as the 
next two words teach, the promise of the Spirit is re- 
ceived "through faith" Gal. 3:14. See also John 7:38 
and Eph. 1:13. 



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POWER FOR WITNESSING, 



"Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that 
wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind 
and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall 
receive anything of the Lord." James i :6, J. The 
Lord is not pleased with the man who prays, however 
long and earnestly, who does not believe. "Without 
faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh 
to God must believe that He is, and that He is a re- 
warder of them that diligently seek Him." Heb. 11:6. 
He who diligently seeks God for that which He has 
promised, and then refuses to believe His promise, 
charges God with unfaithfulness. "He that believeth not 
God hath made Him a liar." Unbelief, therefore, is but 
another name for the sin of calling God a liar. Is it any 
wonder, then, that the Word of the Lord declares that 
"without faith it is impossible to please Him"? 

Is not the admonition in this text now in place: 
"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that 
ye receive them, and ye shall have them"? What! believe 
that I have received the Holy Spirit before I receive 
Him? — No, indeed! Only believe that you receive the 
blessing before the blessing is realized or felt by some 
physical demonstration. If you wait for seeing or feel- 
ing before you will believe, you are not walking by faith, 
but by sight. But "we walk by faith, not by sight." 
2 Cor. 5:7. Like the wicked Jews, you are demanding 
a sign before you will believe. Of them Christ said, "A 
wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." 

Better separate from that company immediately. 

But does the Lord want me to believe that He has 
heard my prayer and granted the witnessing power, with- 
out any evidence on which to base that belief? — No, 
indeed! You have the strongest possible foundation for 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



119 



your faith. "Whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, 
and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which 
built his house upon a rock ; and the rain descended, and 
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that 
house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock/' 
Matt. 7:24, 25. 

Now, reader, watch for something to do in the follow- 
ing sayings of Christ: "What things soever ye desire, 
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall 
have them." Will you do it? Will you believe that you 
receive the Holy Spirit? If you do believe, the Lord 
says you will build upon a rock which no floods or beat- 
ing winds can overthrow. Ycu want to be confident 
about this important move, don't you? And the Lord 
wants you to be confident. He does not want a particle 
of doubt to remain. Here is your confidence: "This is 
the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any- 
thing according to His will, He heareth us. And if we 
know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, w r e know that 
we have the petitions that we desired of Him." 1 John 
5^4, IS- 

You notice that the confidence depends on asking "ac- 
cording to His will." Now let us see if it is His will to 
give you His Holy Spirit. He says: "If ye then, be- 
ing evil, know how to give good gifts unto your chil- 
dren; hozv much more shall your heavenly Father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" 

It was during the terrible blizzard of February, 1899. 
The streets of Brooklyn were blocked with snow. The 
street-cars were unable to run. For days no attempt 
was made to clear any but the great business thorough- 
fares. 1 was living on a side street. The snow was 
waist deep in places on our street, and still it stormed. 



120 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



Our baby girl of eighteen months took sick with a burn- 
ing fever. All night she called for water. She was 
weak and would not eat. but still was able to walk. 
The following evening she was lying in her mother's 
lap. Presently she looked up, and said through her 
parched lips, "Mama, apple." My wife looked at me 
with a pained expression, and said, "Papa, there isn't an 
apple in the house." 

The baby heard her, and, sliding down from her 
mother's lap, toddled over to where I sat, and putting 
one little hand on each of my knees, looked up into my 
face through her tired blue eyes, and said, "Papa, ap- 
ple." She did not think of the impossibilities, she did 
not look at the storm or the snow. She looked only at 
papa, and prayed for apple. A determination came over 
me, too deep for words, which only could be expressed 
in works. I immediately arose, and, putting on my 
storm-coat, threw myself into the drifts against the 
storm. I sometimes waded, and sometimes wallowed, 
but I was wonderfully happy, happy in the thought of 
bringing back an apple to reward the faith in that up- 
turned face. And by and by I succeeded, and with 
added joy hurried back to the baby. As I was working 
my way back, the Spirit brought to my remembrance 
the words, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children; hozv much more shall your 
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask 
Himr 

Yes, there is no doubt of His willingness. That is 
settled. "And this is the confidence that we have in 
Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He 
heareth us; and if we know that He hear us [and we do 
know, for we know 7 that we have asked according to His 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



121 



will], we knozv that we have the petitions that we desired 
of Him." 

Reader, what is your petition? Is it that you may 
receive the Holy Ghost, power for witnessing for your 
Lord, power to tell what you know of His power to 
save to the uttermost? The Lord says you have your 
petition. If any one asks you how you know, tell them 
that you base your confidence on the promise of God. 
One has put this truth thus: — 

"Many do not exercise that faith which it is their 
privilege and duty to exercise, often waiting for that 
feeling which faith alone can bring. Feeling is not 
faith; the two are distinct. Faith is ours to exercise, 
but joyful feeling and the blessing are God's to give. 
The grace of God comes to the soul through the channel 
of living faith, and that faith it is in our power to exer- 
cise. 

"True faith lays hold of, and claims, the promised 
blessing before it is realized and felt. We must send up 
our petitions in faith within the second veil, and let our 
faith take hold of the promised blessing and claim it as 
ours. We are then to believe that we receive the bless- 
ing, because our faith has hold of it, and according to 
the Word it is ours. 'What things soever ye desire, 
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall 
have them.' Here is faith, naked faith, to believe that 
we receive the blessing, even before we realize it. 
When the promised blessing is realized and enjoyed, 
faith is swallowed up. But many suppose they have 
much faith when sharing largely of the Holy Spirit, and 
they can not have faith unless they feel the power of the 
Spirit. Such confound faith with the blessing that 
comes through faith. The very time to exercise faith 



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POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



is when we feel destitute of the Spirit. When thick 
clouds of darkness seem to hover over the mind, then 
is the time to let living faith pierce the darkness and 
scatter the cloud. True faith rests on the promises con- 
tained in the Word of God, and those only who obey 
that Word can claim its glorious promises. 'If ye 
abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask 
what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' John 15:7. 
'Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we 
keep His commandments, and do those things that are 
pleasing in His sight.' 1 John 3:22." 



XXIX 
FAITH ILLUSTRATED 

Abraham is called in Scripture the "father" of the 
faithful. And the reason he bears this name is because 
he is a striking example of one who believed God would 
do a miracle, and acted on his belief, without any other 
evidence than the naked word of God. Abraham 
obeyed the Lord in a case where obedience would make 
it necessary for God to perform a miracle to save Him- 
self from becoming untruthful. God had promised to 
Abraham that through Isaac — "with his seed " — He 
would establish His covenant to make Abraham a father 
of many nations. He then called upon Abraham to 
offer this same son as a sacrifice. If Abraham obeyed, 
his obedience would make it necessary for God to raise 
Isaac from the dead, in order to save Himself from 
being untruthful. 

"By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up 
Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



123 



his only begotten son. of whom it was said, that in 
Isaac shall thy seed be called; accounting that God was 
able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence 
also he received him in a figure.'' Heb. 11:17-19. 

It greatly pleased the Lord to have Abraham act out 
his faith in the word of God, and thereby make it neces- 
sary for God to work a miracle to prove His word true. 
Now, don't you think that the Lord w r ould be pleased to 
have you exercise faith in the promise of God, or act 
out your faith, even though that act requires that God 
shall again work a miracle to make His promise true 
to you? 

But is not this what you have already done? When 
you believed the promise of the Lord for cleansing from 
sin, your faith made it necessary for the Lord to per- 
form a miracle to sustain His Word. Again, when you 
believed His promise to deliver you from that great 
temptation, your faith made it necessary for God to 
work another miracle to make His promise sure to you. 
Now, the Lord promises to baptize you with the Holy 
Spirit for witnessing, and He wants you to believe that 
promise. 

He knows that your faith will make it necessary for 
Him to work a miracle to keep His word, but this is just 
what the Lord asks you to do, and this is just what will 
please Him. "Without faith [without believing God 
when a miracle is necessary to sustain His promise], it 
is impossible to please Him/' 

To the man who was palsied, the Lord said, "Rise, 
take up thy bed, and walk." But that was just what the 
paralytic could not do. He might have said: "Master, 
if you will heal me, then I will arise ; but I am paralyzed ; 
I can not rise and walk. I want to be healed so I can 



124 



POWER FOR IVITXESSIXG. 



arise and walk." But then he would not be acting out 
his faith. And a faith that does not act is dead. "Faith, 
if it have not works, is dead." "A man will say. Thou 
hast faith, and I have works; show me thy faith apart 
from thy works, and I by my works will show thee my 
faith." James 2:17, 18, R. V. 

No faith appears in its perfection until it acts. But 
how could a paralytic act? If there was a muscle in his 
body that he could use in an attempt to rise, faith would 
lead him to use that muscle. And if every muscle were 
paralyzed, he could manifest his faith by willingness to 
arise. Though paralyzed, he was called upon by the 
Lord to act like a man who was not paralyzed; and it 
was the man's part to act like a well man. and the Lord's 
part to see that he was zvell. 

Ten lepers came to Christ to be healed. He said. '"Go 
show yourselves unto the priests." They might nave 
answered: "Cleanse us. Lord, and then we will go. It 
is unlawful for us to appear before the priest in our lep- 
rosy; only those who are cleansed show themselves to 
the priest," But Christ had said, "Go." 

Faith said: "The Master said, 'Go.' It is true that 
only cleansed men show themselves to the priest, and in 
going we have to act like cleansed men. when these 
loathsome bodies bear testimony that we are not 
cleansed. But let us go. and leave appearances and re- 
sults with Him. Let us go." And they went. And 
"as they went, they were cleansed." Luke 17:14. 

Thus from both precept and practise it is plain that 
true faith claims the promise, and acts upon it before 
that promise is realized and felt. This is the faith which 
our Lord taught and commended. It is the faith that 
pleases Him. Should we, then, fear to do that which 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



125 



pleases Him? It is not presumption to do what the 
Lord commands. It is presumption to refuse to do it. 

You believe the promise of God to give you His Holy 
Spirit. You yield yourself wholly to the Lord, ask for 
the promise of the Spirit, accept it by faith. Just as 
sure as you do this, God will fulfil His word to you. If 
you believe the promise, if you believe that you have 
received the promise of the Spirit, God supplies the fact; 
you have the power from on high as truly as the par- 
alytic was healed when he believed he was healed. It 
is so if you believe it. Do not wait to feel you are filled 
with the Spirit, but say: "I believe it. It is so, not be- 
cause I feel it, but because God has promised it." 
"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe 
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." 



More witnessing by letter: — 

"Praise the Lord, the anchor still holds! I thank 
Him for the victories I have gained. I praise His holy 
name for the power to keep me from sinning, and for 
the Holy Spirit for service. With His help, I will go 
through to the end." 

"I am rejoicing in the conscious presence of the Holy 
Spirit, and at times the Spirit of the Lord comes mightily 
upon me. I find that the only hope for victory over self 
and sin is in the Holy Spirit's coming mightily upon 
me. I bless the Lord that in the crises of my soul, the 
Spirit of God comes in to set up a standard against the 
enemy." 

"I have much to praise the Lord for this afternoon, 
for the change He has wrought in my heart. I know 
He has given me His Holy Spirit, which will keep me 



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from falling. My Bible seems like a new book to me; 
I understand it better now, for it is being translated into 
my own life." 

"You understand me when I say there is a new song 
in my life. The work of the Holy Spirit abides in our 
midst. With all the service of my life, I am sure I can 
not show my gratitude for His last blessing so graciously 
bestowed upon us here. The richest of all blessings is 
the gift of the Holy Ghost. Oh, what a comfort! No 
heart can express it; no tongue nor life can express the 
joy that comes by the Spirit of Christ dwelling in our 
hearts. Brother — — — — has a live testimony. He 
attends meetings at the mission — something new for 
him. He certainly rejoices in deliverance. It makes 
our hearts glad to see and hear him. On the part ol 
many more in the church there is now a new interest 
for the mission work. The church is going forward. 
There is a company here who are going through in the 
strength of Jesus. The Lord is granting us victory 
over sins daily. It is all in believing and trusting. 
There is a blessed assurance. No possibility of defeat 
when trusting our Lord and Saviour." 



XXX 

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN RECEIVING 

"Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord." 

The writer desires at this point to bear personal wit- 
ness to the faithfulness of God in fulfiling His promise 
to give us His Spirit for witnessing in response to faith. 
I know that it behooves one to be modest in respect to 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 127 



this matter. But why should it be thought egotistical 
to confess our Lord's faithfulness in answering the cry 
of faith for power from on high, to give force to an 
otherwise spiritless witness, any more than to confess to 
His faithfulness to forgive our sins or keep us from fall- 
ing? 

I came to a point in my ministry where I hungered 
for power to impress the great truths of the gospel upon 
the hearts of the people. I saw sin flourishing on every 
hand like a green bay tree. I saw worldliness flooding 
the churches. I saw ministers resorting to this and that 
worldly method to interest the people. I saw many 
seeking for the regeneration of society through legislative 
enactments. 

I became convinced that all these were but miserable 
substitutes for the "power from on high;" that instead 
of lobbying for human power in legislative halls, the 
Christian should tarry at the throne of grace until en- 
dued with power from on high. The conviction became 
overwhelming, so much so that I cried out in anguish 
of soul at the close of my sermon, "I must have power 
from on high." 

This conviction deepened. I commenced to talk 
about it, and write about it — to exhort others to receive it. 
I had finished an article for publication, on this sub- 
ject, with the words, "Not by might, nor by power, but 
by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." I was sitting 
with my eyes riveted on these words, when the Spirit 
of the Lord suggested to my mind the searching ques- 
tion: "Is that scripture a part of your experience. Do 
you know its meaning? Are you not, like a parrot, re- 
peating it to others, while not knowing its meaning 
yourself?" 



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With tears I confessed that all this was true, but then 
and there I asked the Lord definitely to make the scrip- 
ture a part of my experience. This was in the after- 
noon. The night following I lay awake thinking of the 
prayer that I had offered, and still longing for its fulfil- 
ment, when suddenly this scripture fastened itself on 
my mind, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, 
believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." 
I had found that scripture true in seeking forgiveness 
of sins and keeping power, but had not thought of it in 
this connection. In my surprise and simplicity, I said 
to the Lord, "Is it as easy as that?" and immediately 
that other blessed scripture flashed on my mind, "If ye 
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
children; how much more shall your heavenly Father 
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" And I 
believed Him, and then and there thanked Him for the 
Holy Spirit. 

Reader, did I do right? You answer, "Yes." Then, 
go and do thou likewise. 

But some trembling soul will venture to ask, "How 
did you feel?"— I didn't feel any different. "Well, how 
did you know that it was so?" — Because the Word of the 
Lord said it was so. What did I need of a manifesta- 
tion of witnessing power then, when I was all alone, with 
no one to whom I could bear witness? I had prayed the 
Lord for the Holy Ghost to give power to my testimony 
when I witnessed for Him. Why should the Lord turn 
on the power then, and rattle the empty machine before 
there was grain to be threshed out? I had asked for the 
Holy Ghost for service; and when an opportunity to 
serve came, the power would be present. 

So I believed, and so it was and ever has been. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



129 



Praise the Lord! "Have you ever experienced any feel- 
ing?" some one will ask. Oh, yes, all that was good for 
me,— all I could stand; but it came as the result of my 
faith, not my faith as the result of my feeling. "What 
things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye 
receive them, and ye shall have them." 



XXXI 

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN WITNESSING 

"We are His witnesses of these things; and so is also 
the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that 
obey Him." Acts 5:32. 

At the closing service of a series of revival meetings, 
a man past middle age arose and said: — 

"I am an agnostic, but I am having more difficulty 
accounting for the manifestation of power which I have 
witnessed during these meetings, than with all the diffi- 
cult questions regarding the inspiration of the Scrip- 
tures. Pray for me that I may find the truth." 

Prayer was offered for him, and according to the 
opinion of his wife, which is generally good testimony, 
he was converted. 

What was it that softened and subdued the heart o? 
this unbeliever? It was none other than the power of 
that other Witness, the Holy Spirit, which had borne 
witness with the witness of the servants of God of what 
they had seen and heard. 

"There are some who have come from a neighboring 
city, and who can not remain to the evening meeting," 
said the messenger, "and they have sent me to request 
a service at five o'clock." 
9 



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POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



I was tired with the incessant labor of the meeting; 
but the thought that there were people hungry enough 
for the gospel to make request for an added service, was 
refreshing. 

The Lord indicated the theme, while a brother minis- 
ter opened the meeting with prayer, and then followed 
thirty minutes of witnessing to the power of the gospel 
to save. 

After the benediction, a brother hurried to the desk, 
and, with face beaming with joy, said: "The arrow of 

truth has done its work. Mr. , the neighborhood 

infidel, is under deep conviction, and sits yonder with 
his head resting on the chair in front of him, weeping. 
Come and speak with him." Substantially the follow- 
ing conversation was the result of the interview: — 

Infidel — I am getting old, as you see by these gray 
hairs, and yet I am without an anchor. I am helplessly 
drifting. I tried to anchor in infidelity, and failed. 
Then I tried to find an anchor in Spiritualism, but it 
does not satisfy me. 

Minister — What you need is the Saviour; receive Him, 
and you will have an anchor. 

/.—How? 

M. — Confess your sins and ask the Lord to forgive as 
He promises to do. Believe that He forgives and re- 
ceives you. "Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise 
cast out/' is the promise. 

/. — I can not believe. I have been accustomed to ex- 
plain away all the phenomena of what you call faith, on 
psychological grounds, and I can not believe. 

M. — I can. Once I was a helpless, hopeless wreck; 
but the Lord has wrought a miracle in my life, and is 
giving me the victory over these things which once en- 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



131 



slaved me. I know He can save you because He is sav- 
ing me. 

/. — That is what impressed me. I see you have 
something in your life that I don't have. You are an- 
chored, while I am drifting. 

M. — Now, my brother, you acknowledge that you are 
in need of salvation; and you believe I have the salva- 
tion you want. Hadn't you better accept it, too? If 
you should consult a trusted physician, and he should 
accurately describe your affliction and then prescribe a 
treatment which had resulted in his cure, would you not 
be acting wisely to faithfully follow it? 

/.—Yes. 

M. — Will you not take the treatment which I pre- 
scribe, and which has healed me? 
I.—l will try. 

Then we found a retired spot, and kneeling he ac- 
knowledged his transgressions and pleaded for pardon. 
Kneeling by his side, I watched the struggle with in- 
tense interest, answering each despairing cry of doubt, 
with a promise of the Word. Presently he prayed: "I 
will act on the promise; I accept forgiveness. I am 
forgiven. But, Lord, what did you forgive me for? 
Will I fall back again into my old sins? Will I get 
angry again? Will I again be profane, as I have been? 
I am afraid I will bring disgrace on Christianity. O 
Lord, I am afraid!" 

At this crisis I placed my Bible, open at Isa. 41:10, 
before his face, which he read aloud slowly: 

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; 
for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will 
help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of 
My righteousness." 



132 POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



This scripture completed the victory, and we returned 
triumphant, to find many of his Christian neighbors 
anxiously waiting the outcome of the struggle. And 
ministers and people, without regard to denomination, 
gathered around him to rejoice with him over his new- 
found hope. After thanking the Lord for the victory, I 
sat alone, meditating over the meeting and its results. 

"What did I say that moved him?" I queried. "All 
I did was to witness to the power of God to save. The 
witness was neither deep nor eloquent. It was but the 
simple story, simply told." 

It was none other than the Holy Spirit that had done 
the work. He had taken the witness I bore, and given 
it power to convince and convict. 

"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is 
come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me." 

"What is this?" said a burly man, gruffly, to a com- 
panion, as we sat in front of a mission in a southern city. 

"It is a mission/'' replied the brother meekly. 

"What is a mission?" was the next question, which 
quickly followed with caustic contempt in the tone. 

"It is where they preach — " 

"Preach what?" broke in the man. 

"Preach the gospel," was the response. 

"What is the gospel?" 

The brother hesitated a moment at this point under 
the man's rough, rapid questioning. This was my op- 
portunity, and with firm confidence and a faith based on 
the knowledge of the presence of the heavenly Witness, 
I said: — 

"The gospel is the power of God to save a man from 
doing those things which he would like to stop doing 
and can't" At this he turned and looked at me with 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



133 



an awakened interest. Looking him straight in the 
eyes, I repeated the definition, with a personal witness to 
its truthfulness. 

''Partner, that's what I need. I am a good workman, 
and have no trouble to find a job. I have just struck 
the town. I've money; I don't want your money. I 
shall scon get a job; but when I have worked a couple 
of weeks and receive my wages, then I shall get drunk 
and lose my job, and I shall have to move on to another 
city. I have been doing this for twenty-five years." 
At this his voice trembled, and his giant form shook 
with emotion. 

"You can be saved from all that/' I said with increas- 
ing confidence. "And the reason I know is because the 
Lord has saved me from a slavery as bad as yours. I 
believe the Lord never undertook a harder case than 
when He undertook to save me; and I know He can 
save you." 

"Tell me how," said the man, as he took my hand be- 
tween the calloused palms of his giant hands, and all 
subdued, and gentle as a lamb, listened while I told him 
the way of salvation. And when it was told, he de- 
parted with a new-born hope. 

What transformed the lion into a lamb? What was it 
that changed this burly, brutish man into a tearful, 
trembling, teachable child? It was that other Witness 
that had taken the witness of a mortal man, and with 
His own promised power, driven it through the calloused 
heart of this home-born heathen. Praise the Lord for 
the power from on high! 

"May I have a talk with you, Brother Ballenger?" 
asked a nine-year-old girl at the close of the meeting. 
A time was set, and the youthful seeker came and told 



134 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



her troubles, and asked that prayer might be offered for 
her. There was great earnestness in her conversation, 
and tears and sobs broke into her intelligent prayer. 

From others it was learned that her adoptive mother, 
who had taken her when two years old, had thought it 
absolutely necessary to separate this child from her fam- 
ily, because she dreaded the results of certain sinful hab- 
its upon the younger adopted children. This decision 
brought great suffering to both adoptive parents; for 
they loved the child. 

The situation, summed up, was this: A nine-year-old 
child confessing her sins and weeping before God in 
prayer for deliverance from sinning; a loving mother 
weeping and praying for her deliverance; and the life 
of the Lord Jesus Christ given for her salvation, and 
pleading in her behalf at the Father's throne. And yet 
the child continues to sin, and so seriously that she 
is deemed dangerous, and is sent forth from the home 
as incorrigible. 

No encouraging results followed our prayer season. 
The help must come through the cooperation of the 
adoptive mother, for her own salvation. 

Months later I met the adoptive mother, and heard 
from her the sad story again. Her heart yearned for the 
child; but she feared to let the little outcast come home. 
The little sinner wanted to go home and be good; the 
mother wanted her to come home and be good; and the 
Lord wanted her to come home and be good; and yet 
she was bad, and was banished from home. 

When these facts were laid before the mother in this 
light, it was decided that the devil was not strong enough 
to keep the little one from home and deliverance, in 
opposition to the desire of the child, her mother, and 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



135 



her God. We, therefore, knelt and presented the child 
at the throne of grace with holy boldness. We told the 
Lord that we did not believe the enemy had power 
enough to ruin the child in the face of such a combina- 
tion of cries for deliverance. We claimed deliverance 
by faith. The mother arose from her knees with faith 
to call the little wanderer home. The result of her 
faith is here told in her own words: — 

"For some time I have been impressed to write to 
you to the glory of God; but have felt that it would be 
wrong unnecessarily to take a moment of your time, 
which otherwise would be spent to the glory of God. 
But my heart is so full this morning that I can not for- 
bear writing. Doubtless you will not remember me un- 
less I refer to the case of the little girl, — , whom 

you talked with at , and who seemed such an 

extraordinary case. I am , who was helped 

spiritually and physically through your efforts at the 

camp-meeting. My heart is full of praise and 

gratitutde for the goodness of the Lord to me. I 
claimed the victory over sin in all its phases at that time, 
and claim it still. Be untiring in your efforts to inspire 
others with the same faith that your preached at our 
camp-meeting. I had been groping for help. It was 
dark, but I held on, and my prayer was more than an- 
swered at the camp-meeting. My faith has grown an 
hundred-fold. Since then / live by faith. Many and 
varied have been my experiences, but they have all been 
permitted for my good, as they have tended to 
strengthen my faith. And the Lord has permitted my 
experiences to be a help to others, for which I praise 
Him. 

"I asked for your prayers in behalf of little , 



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POWER FOR 



WITNESSING. 



and I have fell that I had them. I have taken her back 
into my heart and home. I have claimed the keeping 
power with and for her, and I thank God that now I 
see a change for the better. ^Ye seek the Lord earnestly 
and untiringly: and the very Eact that she, over whom 
Satan seemed to have almost entire control, is being 
moulded into the likeness of Christ, demonstrates the 
power of God. and the truthfulness of the scripture 
which says, "'What things soever ye desire, when ye 
pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have 
them.'' Oh, I am so glad I have learned to trust in 
Jesus! He gives me strength to do more than I have 
been able to do in thirteen years. I live by faith, and 
I praise the dear Lord for the privilege of so doing/' 



More extracts from letters received: — 

"W hen you were here, I thought that if I could only 
be with you all the time, in meetings, we could feel the 
Spirit's power continually, though you said we would 
not miss you. I have not missed you, as the Comforter 
has made His abode with us. Praise the Lord! Yes, 
'the anchor holds.' " 



"I can say, with more assurance than ever, that the 

time you spent in the church was a refreshing 

shower of the Spirit of God. It continues, praise the 
Lord! Among the good testimonies of the brethren 
and sisters we hear many of the expressions you used 
to strengthen our faith. To the testimony you bore, we 
can daily say, 'Amen.' The same good Spirit that 
wrought in your heart to bring you to this blessed ex- 
perience in Christ, is now manifest in our church. . 
, . Others are coming, and finding a home where 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



137 



Jesus has prepared a place for Himself to dwell. Who 
would not dwell in this home? I praise the Lord I can 
say, without a doubt, 'We are onward; no falling back.' " 



XXXII 

THE FRUIT BEFORE THE GIFTS 

Reader, are you seeking the fulness of the Holy Spirit 
for service in the work of the Lord? If so, you are 
seeking for the gifts of the Spirit. For every one who 
is baptized with the Spirit for service in the cause of 
Christ is thereby given one or more of the gifts of the 
Spirit. But before you can have one of the gifts of the 
Spirit in its fulness, you must have every one of the mani- 
festations of the fruit of the Spirit. It is the plan of God 
to divide the gifts of the Spirit, "dividing to every man 
severally as He will;" but He never divides the fruit. 
The fruit of the Spirit can not be separated and divided 
among the members of the church, giving to one "love/' 
and to another "long-suffering." One can not say, "I 
have love, and you have long-suffering and kindness" 
(R. V.); for he that has love has long-suffering and kind- 
ness, and he that has long-suffering and kindness has 
love, because love, and love only, is long-suffering and 
kind; "love suffereth long, and is kind." I Cor. 13:4, 
R. V, Neither can one say, "I have love and you have 
meekness;" for love is meek; "love is not puffed up." 
Verse 4. 

He that offendeth in one point of the royal law is 
guilty of all. James 2:10. So he who lacks one of the 
manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit lacks every one. 
It is impossible for one to possess the "love" and "joy" 



iss Fc:riR for 7,'I7:;essixg. 

of the Spirit, and in the place of the "peace" of the Spirit 
manifest "strife," the fruit of the flesh. Neither can one 
possess the kindness and meekness of the Spirit and 
manifest emulation, hatred, and wrath, which are 
works of the flesh. As well claim to have the Son with- 
out the Father or the Holy Ghost without the Father and 
Son. as to claim to have one manifestation of the fruit of 
the Spirit and not the others. 

Reader, you either possess every om of the manifes- 
tations of the fruit of the Spirit, or you possess none. 
This is a terribly solemn truth, but there is no denying 
it. Now read the description of the fruit of the Spirit 
slowly, and meditate seriously, and see if it is the fruit 

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long- 
suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, 
temperance ; against such there is no law." Gal. 5^22, 23, 
R. V. 

Do not despair if the torch of truth discovers only 
leaves. The first step toward fruit-bearing is the dis- 
covery of the lack of fruit. Have you discovered a lack? 
Do you want to bear the fruit of the Spirit? The Lord 
wants you to bear the fruit of the Spirit; and He knows 
you can not bear this fruit alone. Hear Him speak: — 

"As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it 
abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in 
Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that 
abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth 
much fruit; for without Me ye can do noliing/' 

"Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much 
fruit; so shall ye be My disciples. As the Father hath 
loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love. 
I: ye keep My con;ma.i:cn:e:::5. ye shak aziae ::: My 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



139 



love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, 
and abide in His love." John 15:4, 5, 8-10. 

Why does the Lord speak these tender words to you? 
Hear Him again: ''These things have I spoken' unto 
you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your 
joy might be full." John 15:11. The Lord wants you 
to bear much fruit both for His joy and your joy. But 
the Lord knows you can not bear the fruit of the Spirit 
without the indwelling Spirit. Therefore, it will bring 
joy to the Lord to give you the fruit-bearing Spirit. 

"But/' you say, "how shall I receive that which it is 
His joy to give?" Give Him your whole body as a per- 
petual temple for the Holy Spirit. "Neither yield ye 
your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto 
sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are 
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments 
of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have 
dominion over you." Rom. 6:13, 14. 

Will you do this? Will you do it now? Have you 
done it? Is it now done? Do you now yield every 
fiber of your being, every faculty of your mind, every 
organ of your body, every plan of your life, every earthly 
possession, your occupation, home, family, and friends, 
to the Lord, to be His now and forever? 

Now, you have reached the crisis. Here is where the 
rich young man failed. Here is where the proud young 
woman fails. If you refuse to make this entire surren- 
der, it will be useless for you to read further. 

Having surrendered yourself to the Lord for the bear- 
ing of the fruit of the Spirit, throw open the door of 
your heart and ask the Lord to come in by His Spirit. 
He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any 
man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to 



140 POWER FOR WITNESSING. 

him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Rev. 3:20. 
Open the door and ask Him in. "Ask, and it shall be 
given yon. . . . Every one that asketh receiveth. 
. . . If ye then, being evil, know how to give good 
gifts unto your children; how much more shall your 
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask 
Him?" Luke 11:9-13. 

Some one will say, "Now that I have asked Him for 
the Spirit that I may bear fruit, what shall I do next?" 
Let the Lord answer: "What things soever ye desire, 
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall 
have them." Mark 11:24. Now do not wait to feel 
that you have the Spirit, but say, "I have the Spirit; not 
because I feel that I have Him, but because God has 
promised to give the Spirit to me if I ask, and I have 
asked, and to doubt would be to charge God with un- 
faithfulness. 'He that believeth not God hath made 
Him a liar/ " 

Do you not think that the Lord would be pleased it 
you believe His promise? Then believe that you re- 
ceive His Spirit, and please Him. Do it now. 

The reasons why the fruit of the Spirit must appear 
in all its manifestations before one manifestation of the 
gifts of the Spirit can appear, will be presented in the 
next chapter. 

XXXIII 

HOW TO SEEK SPIRITUAL GIFTS 

The fruit of the Spirit must appear in the life of the 
Christian; the gifts of the Spirit may not. Millions will 
be saved who never had the gift of miracles, but not one 
will ever be saved who did not possess the fruit of love. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



141 



Many will be saved who never spake with tongues, but 
none will be saved who did not have the fruit of 
temperance. 

The fruit of the Spirit is eternal. "Love never fail- 
eth." The gifts of the Spirit are only temporal. 
"Whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; 
whether there be tongues, they shall cease." I Cor. 13:8, 
R. V. The fruit of the Spirit is the material which com- 
poses the house eternal. The gifts are but the tem- 
porary staging used for the building of the house, "for 
the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of minister- 
ing, unto the building up of the body of Christ. 7 ' 
Eph. 4:12, R. V. 

"But when that which is perfect is come, then that 
which is in part shall be done away." 1 Cor. 13:10. 
When the building is perfected, the staging is taken 
away; so when the body of Christ is perfected, the gifts 
will be taken away. 

What would a man with the gift of prophecy do with 
this gift in heaven? What need would he have of 
visions of the glories of heaven when face to face with 
its glories? What would the discerner of spirits do with 
his gift in heaven, where there is but one Spirit? Of what 
use would be the gift of tongues, or the interpretation of 
tongues in heaven, where all speak one language? 
What would the evangelist do with his gift where all 
are eternally saved? Therefore as the tools of a build- 
ing are to a building, so are the gifts of the Spirit to 
the fruit of the Spirit. A builder who did not under- 
stand and appreciate the relation of the tools and stag- 
ing to the edifice, would not be a competent builder, 
and could not be trusted with either tools or building; 
so he who does not understand and appreciate the rela- 



142 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



tion of the gifts of the Spirit to the fruit of the Spirit, 
can not and will not be entrusted by the great Master- 
builder with the gifts of the Spirit for the work of build- 
ing up the body of Christ. 

He who seeks to manifest the gifts of the Spirit before 
he manifests the fruit of the Spirit, thereby shows that 
he is not in a condition to be trusted with the gifts. 
He who seeks miracles before meekness will never be 
entrusted with the gift of working miracles. He who 
follows after the gift of tongues more earnestly than 
after the grace of temperance, is not fitted to use even 
the one tongue he already has. He who covets the gift 
of healing more earnestly than the grace of love, is him- 
self in need of healing before he can be entrusted with 
the gift of healing. 

Here is the story of two men who wanted the gift of 
working miracles, when they were not in possession of 
the grace of long-suffering. 

The Lord was on His way to Jerusalem to attend the 
Passover feast. He was preaching in the towns through 
which He passed. James and John were sent to "a 
village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him." But 
the Samaritans "did not receive Him, because His face 
was as though He would go to Jerusalem," and they 
were bitterly opposed to going to attend the feast at 
Jerusalem and to any one who would go, This dis- 
pleased James and John. They did not have that love 
that "suffereth long." They ought to have sought it. 
But,, instead, they sought the gift of working miracles. 
If they had possessed the gift, they would have quickly 
exercised it, and burned up the Samaritans, and reported 
the destruction to the Lord. But they did not have the 
gift, and must go to Christ to obtain it. But instead of 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



143 



receiving it, they received a stinging rebuke: "Ye know 
not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of 
Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save 
them." 

Any man possessed of power, but destitute of love, is 
a dangerous man. Power without love has made all the 
tyrants that ever reigned. Power without love is what 
makes the devil what he is. 

So important is the subject of spiritual gifts, that Paul 
devotes three chapters of his first letter to the Cor- 
inthian church to its consideration; but not one word is 
spoken to discourage the Corinthians in their zeal after 
spiritual gifts. On the other hand, speaking by the Holy 
Ghost, he three times exhorts them to "desire earnestly" 
spiritual gifts. It is the ignorance concerning, not the 
zeal for, spiritual gifts, that the Holy Spirit rebukes. 
After proving that all the gifts are needed, the apostle 
commands them to "desire earnestly the greater gifts." 
i Cor. 12:31, R. V. It was not their zeal in seeking 
spiritual gifts which was rebuked. In their ignorance 
and carnality they had sought the gifts through pride, 
strife, jealousy, and envy. 1 Cor. 3:3. But Paul 
through the Spirit points out a "more excellent way" to 
seek them; and this way is shown, in the thirteenth 
chapter, and in the first verse of the fourteenth, to be to 
seek first the fruit of the Spirit, and afterwards the gifts 
of the Spirit. 

After showing the immortality and importance of 
love, hew that without this fruit of the Spirit, all the 
gifts of the Spirit are "sounding brass" and "nothing " 
(verses 1 to 3, R. V.), Paul, not wishing to quench 
their zeal for spiritual gifts, sums up the whole matter 
in this command, "Follow after love: yet desire earnestly 
spiritual gifts." 1 Cor. 14:1, R. V. 



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POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



This is the "more excellent way" to seek for spiritual 
gifts. They must be sought through the love of the 
Spirit, through the love of Christ, that love which led 
Him to give up all for the salvation of sinning men. 
He who has that love will be led by it to desire earnestly 
to share in the gifts of the Spirit Just in proportion as 
the builder loves the work of building, just in that same 
proportion will he seek the necessary tools and staging. 
So with the workers together with Christ; just in pro- 
portion as they love to build up the body of Christ, not 
themselves, just in that same proportion will they seek 
the gifts of the Spirit. 

Do you long to see the unbelieving saved as a result 
of the exercise of the gifts? The Spirit declares that the 
unbeliever "will fall down on his face and worship God, 
declaring that God is among you indeed." i Cor. 14:25, 
R. V. Do the builders need that power to-day? Then, 
reader, let us seek it. Let us obey the commands of the 
Spirit, and seek the gifts of the Spirit, but seek them in 
the more excellent way marked out. "Follow after love; 
yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts.'' Reader, this is a 
command of God. Will you obey it? 



XXXIV 

MIRACLES OF HEALING 

"Why should it be thought a thing incredible with 
you, that God should raise the dead?" was the pointed, 
pleading question which Paul, the apostle, addressed to 
Agrippa, the king. Agrippa believed the prophets. 
Why should you believe the prophets, and discredit the 



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resurrection? was the real import of Paul's searching 
question. 

This question was followed by Paul's testimony con- 
cerning the miracle of his own conversion, and then the 
miracle of the resurrection of Christ in fulfilment of the 
promise of the prophets. 

Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you 
that God should heal the sick? is another pointed ques- 
tion that pleads to-day for answer from those who pro- 
fess to accept the testimony of Scripture. 

The gospel of salvation is nothing h not a miracle. It 
is the "mystery of God," the working of a miraculous 
power, the effects of which can be seen and heard, but 
its processes are unexplained. John 3:8. It is easy for 
one who has experienced the miraculous transformation 
of life called in Scripture the new birth, to credit the mir- 
acle of the resurrection of the body. And he who really 
believes in the resurrection of the body, can readily be- 
lieve in the healing of the body, which is only a kind of 
first-fruits, or part payment, of the promised "redemption 
of our body." 

The atonement embraces the whole man, spirit, soul, 
and body. "I pray God your whole spirit and soul and 
body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. 5:23. Notice how the 
promises of bodily healing are united with those of soul- 
healing in the following Scriptures: — 

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, . . . who forgiveth 
all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases." Ps. 

!03-2, 3. 

"He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all 
that were sick; that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our 

10 



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infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." Matt. 8:16, 17. 

Let us place this scripture concerning our infirmities 
and sicknesses alongside of another concerning our 
sins : — 

"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on 
the tree." 1 Peter 2 '.24. 

"Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sick- 
nesses." Matt. 8:16, 17. 

Why did He bear our sins? Answer — "That we, 
being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness." 
1 Peter 2:24. "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live 
any longer therein?" Rom. 6:2. "He hath made Him 
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be 
made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:21. 
"Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His 
people from their sins." Matt. 1:21. "'He was mani- 
fested to take away our sins" 

Thus do the Scriptures teach that He bore our sins that 
we might not bear them. He bore them for us that He 
might bear them away from us; that we should bear 
them no longer. This is the blessed truth which we 
teach the sinner when he comes to us seeking salvation 
from sin. 

Why did He take our infirmities and bear our sick- 
nesses? Let the Scriptures answer, while we watch for 
the taking away of the "infirmities" and <s sicknesses" from 
the infirm and sick. 

"And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit 
of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, 
and could in nowise lift up herself. And when Jesus 
saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, 
Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And He 
laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made 
straight, and glorified God." Luke 13:11-13. 



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"Then they went out to see what was done; and came 
to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils 
were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in 
his right mind." Luke 8:35. 

"And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the lep- 
rosy departed from him, and he was cleansed." Mark 
1:42. 

"And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity 
thirty and eight years. . . . Jesus saith unto him, 
Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the 
man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked." 
John 5:5, 8, 9. "Great multitudes came together to 
hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities" 
Luke 5:15. "And Jesus went about all the cities and 
villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching 
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness 
and every disease among the people." Matt. 9:35. 

"And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; 
and she arose, and ministered unto them. When the 
even was come, they brought unto Him many that were 
possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with 
His word, and healed all that were sick; that it might 
be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, 
saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sick- 
nesses." Matt. 8:14-17. 

From all these scriptures it is clear that our Lord 
took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses that we 
might not have to bear them; that we might be loosed 
from them; that they might depart from us. Jesus bore 
them therefore, that He might bear them away from us, 
that we might bear them no more. 

All this proves that the gospel includes salvation from 
sickness as well as salvation from sin. At this point we 



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shall be tempted to measure this truth by our limited 
experience. We are in danger of denying the inevitable 
conclusion to which the Scriptures have brought us, be- 
cause we have never seen such mighty miracles of heal- 
ing as are promised in the gospel, and which appear in 
the preaching and practise of that gospel at the hands of 
the apostolic church. But, instead of cutting and trim- 
ming this tremendous truth to fit our experience, let us 
accept it in its fulness, however impossible it may seem 
to us, and commence immediately to enlarge our faith 
and experience until they shall measure up to apostolic 
precept and practise. 

But why should any one who believes in the miracle 
of conversion, ever question the miracle of healing? 
' 'Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy 
sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy 
bed, and walk?" Mark 2:9. Reader, answer this ques- 
tion which the Lord asks you. Do not answer it from 
the standpoint of your limited experience, but from the 
standpoint of what the Lord promises, and from the in- 
terpretation of these promises as they appear in the 
practise of the apostolic church. 

Why is it that a reported healing creates so much 
amazement among the people? If the Lord should to- 
day give sight to one born blind, it would cause a sensa- 
tion throughout all Christendom. We would expect the 
world to wonder; but why should the church stand in 
amazement? If conversion is in reality a miracle, it is 
the greatest of all miracles. Why should there not be 
as much amazement manifested in the presence of this 
miracle? Does not the surprise manifested over mir- 
acles of healing show a lack of appreciation of the mir- 
acle of the new birth, and a disposition to transfer it 



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from the realm of the miraculous to the sphere of the 
natural? 

No one will ever be able to appreciate the miracle 
which follows the command, "Arise, and take up thy 
bed, and walk," until that one appreciates the miracle 
which follows the words, "Son, thy sins be forgiven 
thee." 

In this I am not penning theory, but personal experi- 
ence. The time was when I had no real faith in mir- 
acles of healing. I had not experienced God's mirac- 
ulous saving and keeping power. But when this 
miracle appeared in my life, immediately there followed 
faith in God's power to heal the sick. I reasoned thus: 
God has wrought a mighty miracle in my life, in deliver- 
ing me from my besetting sins which have enslaved me 
all my life. It will require no greater miracle to heal 
the sick than He is manifesting in my life in keeping me 
from falling into my old sins. Thus arose my faith in 
God's healing power for the body. And as I received it, 
so must I walk in it. If there comes a shadow of a fail- 
ure in my personal experience touching my salvation 
from sinning, there is a corresponding failure in my 
faith and practise concerning the healing of the sick. 

There are conditions, of course, which must be met 
in order to realize salvation both from sin and sickness, 
which will be presented later; but we must not await 
the conditions before accepting the scriptural truth that 
the gospel includes health for the body as well as for the 
soul. To those who believe the Scriptures, I repeat the 
question, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible 
with you that God should heal the sick?" 



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XXXV 

THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT WITHHELD 

It had been a long time since the manifestation of 
miracles. Israel was sorely pressed by the Midianites. 
The wonderful miracles of the Exodus were only about 
two hundred years old, but those who witnessed them 
were dead. It looked to sinning Israel as if miracles 
were at an end. Some doubtless were ready to deny 
that there ever had been miracles. At this time an an- 
gel appeared to Gideon, and informed him that a mir- 
acle was about to be wrought for the deliverance of his 
people. Gideon himself was tempted to think miracles 
were confined to the fathers, and he answered, ''Where 
be all His miracles which our fathers told us of?" 
Judges 6:13. After the miracles of the fire and of the 
fleece, he believed. 

Gideon collected an army of 32,000 men, but, when 
tested, 22,000 of them were found to entertain the con- 
viction that the days of miracles were past, and were 
allowed to follow their convictions home. For good 
reasons, 9,700 of the remaining 10,000 were sent home. 
The remaining 300 believed that God would perform a 
miracle in their day, and He did. 

Many to-day are perplexed, as was Gideon, over the 
absence of miracles in the church. They do not believe 
that miracles ended with the lives of the apostles, much 
less do they attempt to explain away the scriptural ac- 
count of these miracles. They read and believe the 
record of how Jesus went about ''preaching the gospel 
of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and 



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all manner of disease among the people and of how 
"they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken 
with divers diseases and torments, and those w r hich were 
possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and 
those that had the palsy; and He healed them/' Matt. 
4:23, 24; 8:16, 17; 12:15; Mark 6:55, 56; Luke 4:40; 
6:17-19; 9:10, 11. 

Against the claim that these miracles of healing were 
intended by the Lord to continue only during the life- 
time of the apostles, they present the promises, "These 
signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall 
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 
they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly 
thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the 
sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:17, 18. ''Ver- 
ily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the 
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works 
than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father." 
John 14:12. 

The Acts of the Apostles is a record of the fulfilment 
of these promises. "And by the hands of the apostles 
were many signs and wonders wrought among the peo- 
ple. . . . There came also a multitude out of the 
cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, 
and them which were vexed with unclean spirits; and 
they were healed every one." Acts 5:12-16. 

The claim that these miracles were confined to the 
ministry of the apostles is refuted by the records of the 
miracles by Philip and Stephen, members of the seven 
chosen to minister to the poor. Of the former it is 
recorded that, "Philip went down to the city of Samaria, 
and preached Christ unto them. And the people with 
one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip 



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spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 
For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of 
many that w T ere possessed with them; and many taken 
with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And 
there was great joy in that city." Acts 8:5-8. Of 
the latter it is written that, "Stephen, full of faith and 
power, did great wonders and miracles among the peo- 
ple." Acts 6:8. 

Thus we see that the promise that "these signs shall 
follow them that believe" appears in the practise of those 
who were not counted among the apostles. But not 
only does it appear in the practise of others besides the 
apostles, but by precept it is enjoined upon others of an 
order which, all will admit, continues as long as the 
church militant continues. Here is the precept: "Is any 
sick among you? let him call for the elders of tlie 
church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with 
oil in the name of the Lord ; and the prayer of faith shall 
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if 
he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for 
another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent 
prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 
5:14-16. 

And the Lord, foreseeing that the time would come 
when unbelief would attempt to relegate all miracles to 
the time of the fathers, and to attribute to them advan- 
tages not to be shared by other believers of a later time, 
— the Lord, foreseeing this, calls special attention to the 
great miracle-working prophet Elias as "a man subject to 
like passions as we are" 

Notwithstanding these strong, unmistakable promises, 
the gift of healing is to-day practically absent from the 



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153 



church. If it were not there would be no need of the 
advertising which is now so common. The multitudes 
cured would advertise so loudly that the healer would 
be thronged day and night, and possibly some earnest 
souls would tear the roof off the house, in order to bring 
some sufferer into his presence. There are a few sick 
people who are healed even in this day of unbelief, but 
exercise of the gift of healing as witnessed in the days 
of Christ is nowhere seen. 

When one reads the promises made to the church 
concerning healing, and the wonderful record of mir- 
acles which were wrought in the early days of the 
church, and then contemplates the absence of these 
"mighty" works in the church of to-day, unless there is a 
clear understanding of the reason for it there will be 
heard Gideon's cry of staggered faith, "Where be all 
His miracles which our fathers told us of?" And there 
is danger that this will soon be followed by an attempt 
to limit miracles to the days of the apostles, and this in 
turn will be followed by the denial of all miracles, and 
this by the midnight of infidelity. 

There is a reason for the absence of these gifts, but it is 
dangerous to one's reputation to give it. It used to be 
dangerous to life. As a result of giving this reason for 
the absence of miracles in Nazareth, our Lord was 
dragged down from the pulpit, out of the synagogue, to 
the edge of a precipice, down which the church leaders 
tried to dash Him to death. Luke 4:16-30. And what 
was this reason which wrought them up to such a rage? 
He told them, through references to similar conditions 
in the days of the prophets, that God could more safely 
manifest the gifts of healing on behalf of the heathen 
than He could on behalf of His church in their sinful 



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unbelief. And herein lies the reason for the absence of 
these gifts to-day. 

The church is backslidden. The Lord can not honor 
a backslidden church. If He did, He would disgrace 
His throne. The world judges God by the lives of His 
people, and it is not inconsistent that it should; for the 
Lord has said of His people: "Ye are My witnesses/' 
"Ye are the light of the world/' "Ye are manifestly de- 
clared to be the epistle of Christ/' "Ye are the body of 
Christ." Isa. 43:12; Matt. 5:14; 2 Cor. 3:3; 1 Cor. 
12:27. And the only way God has of saving His repu- 
tation when those who are sent forth as His witnesses, 
witness against Him, is to withhold His witness of ap- 
proval from them by no longer "bearing them witness, 
both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, 
and gifts of the Holy Ghost." 

Should the Lord give the gifts of healing to some 
member of the church bearing His name to-day, 
whereby the world would be attracted to Him as it was 
to the apostles before the church had confessed its 
worldliuess, it would only confirm that church in its 
worldliness and pride. The members of the church 
thus honored, would meet the members of other com- 
munions with the exultant cry: "We are the true 
church! God has at last settled that question. Have 
you heard the news? God has placed in our church 
the gifts of healing, and the preaching of our creed is 
now confirmed with signs following. This proves that 
we are right, and you are wrong." 

Thus it is plainly seen that the withholding of the con- 
firming miracles from the lukewarm church of to-day 
is the wisest thing the Lord can do. To do otherwise 
would be to confirm them in their opinion that they are 



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155 



"rich, and increased with goods, and have need of noth- 
ing/' and close their ears to the message of God, on the 
acceptation of which hangs their salvation. "Thou art 
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and 
naked." 

I praise God as I write, that He has not compromised 
His holiness by giving His confirming gifts to a back- 
slidden church. And I feel to anticipate the song of 
vindication, sung on the sea of glass, when men shall 
come to see the wisdom and mercy of God in His deal- 
ings with the children of men: "Great and marvelous 
are Thy works. Lord God Almighty; just and true are 
Thy ways, Thou King of saints." Rev. 15:3. 



XXXVI 

THE GIFTS OF HEALING AND GOD'S REPUTATION 

Will the Lord withhold His gifts from one who is 
walking in the light, and who is wholly consecrated, 
and keep him back from manifesting the fulness of 
power because the church is backslidden? — Most cer- 
tainly He will. For Him to do otherwise would be to 
bring His truth and His name into disgrace. If those 
born blind or lame or dumb, were being healed by the 
ministers of any worldly church to-day, that church 
would thereby be brought into great prominence, and 
every act of its members would be closely scrutinized as 
the acts of the people of the church whom God was 
approving by miracles and wonders and signs; and the 
God who gave the power for working these wonders 
and signs would be measured and judged by the sins of 



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the people of the church thus prominently pointed out 
and honored. 

But did not Christ, while a member of the Jewish 
church, perform His w T onderful miracles of healing? 
Yes, but in order to save the reputation of God He was 
compelled to denounce the sins of the Jewish church, 
and finally to repudiate them before all the world. 

The Jewish church claimed to be the only representa- 
tives on earth of the true God. They claimed this when 
they were more wicked than the Gentiles. When the 
Gentiles heard their claim and saw their crimes, they 
blasphemed. Paul says they did. They not only 
cursed the Jews, but they blasphemed the God of the 
Jews. This is not strange. The Jews claimed to be 
like Jehovah. The Gentiles, therefore, judged Jehovah 
by the Jews. They knew they robbed widows, and 
committed adultery. They knew they did all this when 
they heard them making their long, loud prayers on the 
corners of the streets. This made them angry, and they 
blasphemed both the Jews and Jehovah. Paul presents 
it thus: "Thou, therefore, which teachest another, teach- 
est thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should 
not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man 
should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? 
Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 
. . . For the name of God is blasphemed among the 
Gentiles through you." Rom. 2:21-24. 

Jesus came to save not only sinners, but the reputa- 
tion of His Father. And in order to do this, He must 
tell the truth about Ffis church. And He did. He 
declared in the hearing of the Gentiles that the leaders 
in the church were whited sepulchers, — rotten at heart, 
were robbers of widows, pious hypocrites, a generation 



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of vipers. When the Gentiles heard this, many stopped 
swearing at Jehovah. They saw that His professed 
church was misrepresenting Him. They listened to 
Christ's gracious words. When the Jews ordered them 
to arrest the Son of God, they refused, and said, "Never 
man spake like this man/' 

Christ's miracles followed the cleansing of the temple. 
"And Jesus went into the temple of God. and cast out all 
them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew 
the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them 
that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My 
house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have 
made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame 
came to Him in the temple; and He healed them." 
Matt. 21:12-14. 

He could now perform His mighty cures without 
bringing honor to a dishonorable church, and without 
bringing dishonor to Jehovah. By calling the Jewish 
church a den of thieves, Jesus was able to work miracles 
while a member of that church, without bringing dis- 
grace upon His Father. But His faithfulness in rebuk- 
ing the sins of His church cost Him not only His mem- 
bership in that church, but His life. 

The church of to-day is not free from its hypocrites 
and whited sepulchers. It is not free from its genera- 
tion of vipers and its robbers of widows. And, again, 
the Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of 
them. And, again Jesus must come into the temple and 
cleanse it before it can again be written that "the blind 
and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed 
them.'" Who will follow the example of Christ? Who 
will go into His pride-filled church, which he knows is 
full of unconverted men and women whose sins are a 



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disgrace to the Christian name, and cry at its festivals 
and fairs and oyster suppers, "Babylon the great is fallen, 
is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the 
hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean 
and hateful bird"? This is the first step for a conse- 
crated man to take who is seeking the gift of healing 
while holding communion in a world-loving church. 
But this power to cast out devils may be purchased at 
the cost of his being cast out of his beloved synagogue, 
and finding a home with some humble church "every- 
where spoken against." And, from the church which 
will not be cleansed, Christ, in the person of His true 
disciples, will depart, uttering the fearful words, "Be- 
hold, your house is left unto you desolate." 

But could not some one who is not a member of any 
church, who is consecrated, be intrusted with the gifts 
of healing? — No; for the gifts of the Spirit are given to 
the church, not to a disconnected, irresponsible indi- 
vidual. "God hath set some in the church, first apostles, 
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that mir- 
acles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversi- 
ties of tongues." i Cor. 12:28. "The church of the 
living God" is "The pillar and ground of the truth." 

1 Tim. 3:15. It is not an invisible, intangible, irrespon- 
sible nonentity, but a real, tangible body, made on pur- 
pose to be looked at, — "Ye are the light of the world," — 
and to be handled and read. "Ye are manifestly de- 
clared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, writ- 
ten not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; 
not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart" 

2 Cor. 3:3. Of Christ it is written: "The Word was 
made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His 
glory." John 1:14. But He has returned to His 



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159 



Father and we see Him no more, only as we see Him 
in the flesh of the "church, which is His body, the ful- 
ness of Him that filleth all in all." 

No attempt was made by the glorious apostolic church 
to hide its literal organized existence, and thereby shirk 
the responsibility of the influence of unworthy members. 
It had power to cleanse itself from its Ananias and Sap- 
phira, and to strike such terror to the hearts of the 
hypocrites on the outside that "of the rest durst no man 
join himself to them." This repudiation of church or- 
ganization so common to-day is the swinging of the 
pendulum to the opposite extreme from the tyrannical 
organization of a fallen church, and is intended to escape 
the responsibility of church membership, and the un- 
pleasant duty of cleansing out those who "trespass," and 
who will not "hear the church" and repent of their sins. 
Matt. 18:15-17. 

Yes, the absence of the confirming signs and wonders 
to-day is a solemn, silent, infallible proof of the presence 
of sin in the church. God is defending His honor from 
disgrace. He is withholding His witnessing wonders 
from a lukewarm church to save His reputation both in 
heaven and earth. 

But how long shall this disgrace continue? How long 
shall God be compelled to testify against His church? 
When the unbeliever challenges the church to show the 
miracles which are plainly promised, we who believe the 
promises explain their absence on tfre ground of the 
presence of sin. But this is a disgraceful confession. 
It is a confession from the church, that her relations with 
the world are such that her Head can not fully identify 
Himself with her without bringing Himself into dis- 
grace. 



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Who that reads these solemn truths will sense the sad 
situation, and take the matter to heart? Reader, are 
you zealous for God's honor? Does the condition of 
the church concern you? Do you sigh and cry "for all 
the abominations that be done in the midst thereof? 
Do you "weep between the porch and the altar," and 
cry, "Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine 
heritage to reproach"? Who will begin to cry to God 
for cleansing both for himself and the church, "and give 
Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jeru- 
salem a praise in the earth"? To this the writer has 
dedicated every power of body and mind. And I can 
bear testimony from personal experience to the fact that 
God will respond with His witnessing power just as fast 
as ministers and people are purged from their sins, which 
separate them from the power of God. 



XXXVII 
CONFIRMING SIGNS 

"That ye may know that the Son of Man hath power 
on earth to forgive sins, ... I say unto thee, Arise, 
and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 
And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went 
forth before them all; insomuch that they were all 
amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on 
this fashion." Mark 2:10-12. 

One important office of the gifts of the Spirit is to 
bear witness to the truthfulness of the word preached. 
Of the ministry of the Great Teacher, Peter spoke thus 
on the day of Pentecost: "A man approved of God 
among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which 



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161 



God did by Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves 
also know." Acts 2:22. 

Paul writes thus of the witnessing office of the gifts of 
the Spirit: "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great 
salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the 
Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard 
Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and 
wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy 
Ghost, according to His own will?" Heb. 2:3, 4. 

"And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the 
Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with 
signs folbwing." Mark 16:20. "Long time therefore 
they [Paul and Barnabas] tarried there [at Iconium], 
speaking boldly in the Lord, which bare witness unto 
the Word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be 
done by their hands." Acts 14:3, R. V. 

The disciples understood the need of these confirming 
cures and witnessing wonders; and we read how they 
prayed definitely for them, and how the Lord just as 
definitely gave them that which they asked. Here is the 
prayer :— 

"And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant 
unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak 
Thy Word, by stretching forth Thine hand to heal; and 
that signs and wonders may be done by the name of Thy 
holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place 
was shaken where they were assembled together; and 
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake 
the Word of God with boldness." Acts 4:29, 31. 

Thus clearly do the Scriptures teach that the gifts of 
the Holy Ghost are given to approve, to witness to, and 
to confirm the preaching of the Word. The signs and 
wonders are not the things of greatest importance. The 
11 



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PG1VER FOR JVITXESSIXG. 



all-important thing is the preaching 
"signs and wonders," and "divers 

spoxen is ilie Word wliicli at tlic 
by the Lord." 

preaching of the Word. "Preach ! 
and "heal the sick,'" is the order i 
sion is given. It is therefore evid 



he Word, and the 
.cles. and <!::s of 



tne 



ne \\ ord 



preaching or a I 
the preaching of 
a failure in the s 



to connrm the 
*e:ore, any railure in 
us: inevitably follow 



the gc 
Paul ii 

who si 



ig of the Word 
irely blinded by 



LCI LU 1 . 



appearing and ms k 

sound doctrine; but 
themselves teachers ; 
away their ears from 
2 Tim. 4:1-4. R. V. 

Wffl God confirm 
falling away from th 
why God should reft 
signs following. Ba< 
are seeking the witr 
which at the first be« 



hee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus 
dge the quick and the dead, and by His 



- - 



not encure the 
ears, will heap to 
s:s: and will turn 
tc ra&.es. 



i ::en :;;:s 



. my brother, if you 
Back to the Word 
rn bv the Lord, be- 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



163 



fore you begin to teach the fable that the witnessing 
signs and wonders were for the apostles only. 

God working with them! What a blessed association 
in labor! "The Lord working with them, and confirm- 
ing the Word with signs following/' What a glorious 
experience the early disciples must have had when the 
Lord worked with them confirming the Word! But 
why lock back? He is the same yesterday, to-day, and 
forever. He will work with us again, and confirm the 
Word again, if the church will get back to that Word; 
for at the time He was working with them, confirming 
the Word with signs following, He promised His pres- 
ence to us to-day, w T hen He said: "All power is given 
unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and 
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching 
them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- 
manded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world." Matt. 28:18-20. 

And for what will He be with us? — To work with us, 
of course. And how does He work with us? — It .is by 
confirming the Word with signs following. 

The absence, therefore, of the confirming signs is a 
sad and solemn witness to the fact that there is a failure 
somewhere in the preaching of the Word. 

Pveader, does this truth touch your heart? Does it 
make any difference to you whether the Lord works 
with the church and confirms the Word, or whether He 
does not? I confess that it concerns me deeply, and 
"for Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for 
Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness 
thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof 
as a lamp that burneth. ,, Isa. 62:1. 



164 POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



XXXVIII 
THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT 

He who is seeking the baptism of the Spirit, is seeking 
to become the sword of the Spirit. Some have thought 
that they were to wield the Spirit as a sword is 
wielded in the hand of a mighty man; but this is a wrong- 
conception. On the contrary, the Spirit is to wield us 
and use us as a sword. But do not the Scriptures say 
that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God? Eph. 
6:17. Yes, but it is the u Word made flesh" that is the 
Spirit's sword, and not the letter of the Word, which is 
spoken by the self-righteous Pharisees who gather at the 
corner grocery and loaf and chew and smoke and "argue 
Scripture." No, no! The sword which the Spirit seeks 
to use is a human life upon which the Spirit has written 
the law of God, the Word of the Lord. 

When the Lord was preparing to write His law on 
stone; He turned to Moses and said, with intense longing, 
"O that there were such an heart in them, that they would 
fear Me, and keep all My commandments always." Deut. 
5:29. This was but to say, O that I might write My law 
on My people's hearts instead of on these stones! 

The reason why the Lord wrote the law on stone at 
Sinai was because He could not write it on the hearts 
of His people. From the day that He wrote His law on 
stone until this day, the Lord has been waiting for men 
to yield their hearts to Him, to have His law written 
there. This is the glory of the new covenant. "Behold, 
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of 



POWER FOR WITNESSING, 



165 



Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with 
their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to 
bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant 
they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith 
the Lord; but this shall be the covenant that I will 
make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith 
the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and 
write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they 
shall be My people." Jer. 31:31-33. 

It was glorious when the Lord ministered the law to 
the yielding stone, but this glory is eclipsed in the glory 
which attends the ministering of this law to a yielded 
heart, whereby such a life becomes "the epistle of Christ 
(a living letter of Christ addressed to sinful men), "writ- 
ten not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; 
not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart." 
2 Cor. 3:1-8. 

For centuries the Lord received from the great major- 
ity of His professed people, only lip service. "This peo- 
ple draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do 
honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, 
and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of 
men/' Isa. 29:13. There was plenty of form and cere- 
mony, plenty of sacrifice and offering, but these from 
carnal hearts were only a weariness to the Lord, who 
wanted spiritual service from those upon whose hearts 
He had w r ritten His law. Isa. 1:14. 

In the midst of all this heartless service, this yielding 
of the lips but not the life, a voice is heard saying: 
"Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine 
ears hast Thou opened; burnt-offering and sin-offering 
hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come; in 
the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to 



166 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart." 
Ps. 40:6-8. 

The apostle Paul quotes this scripture, in Hebrews 10, 
and applies it to Christ, with this additional thought: 
"Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body 
hast Thou prepared Me/' This was the promise of 
Christ that He would come to the world in human flesh 
and show to the world what His Father desired in men, 
that He desired a body, a living man, in whom and 
through whom He might display the glories of His 
Word. In fulfilment of His promise He came, and this 
is the record which the apostle John bears of His com- 
ing: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word 
was with God, and the Word was God." "And the 
Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." "In Him 
was life; and the life was the light of men." 

In Jesus, the Word made flesh, the Spirit held a perfect 
sw r ord, and consequently there was no limiting or meas- 
uring of the power by which the Spirit used this sword 
for righteousness against sin. 

It is not enough to say the truth, we must be the truth. 
Christ said, "I am . . . the truth' 9 Again, "I am 
. . . the life" "The words that I speak unto you, 
they are spirit, and they are life;" and this because He 
spake only that which He lived. His words were words 
of truth and life, because He spake those words which 
were true in His life, words which were made flesh, words 
which were translated into acts. And herein lay the dif- 
ference between His speaking and the speaking of the 
Pharisees. The Lord says, "They say and do not." He 
first did that which He said; consequently He spake as 
one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

God has no truth for the world that He wants given 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



167 



in theory. ''Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, 
but a body hast Thou prepared Me." "Burnt-offering 
and sin-offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, 
Lo, I come; ... I delight to do Thy will, O My 
God, yea, Thy law is within My heart" 

Reader, if you have a theory of a truth which you 
want your neighbors to accept, first furnish that truth 
with a body, with your body. Truth without a body in 
which to manifest itself is dead, being alone. And this 
is what James means when he says, "So speak ye, and 
so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." 
That he has in mind the translation of the truth into the 
life, the translation of the faith into flesh, is clear from 
what follows: "If a brother or sister be naked, and 
destitute oi daily food, and one of you say unto them, 
Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstand- 
ing ye give them not those things which are needful to 
the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath 
not works, is dead, being alone." 

Again I repeat, if you have a theory of a truth that you 
want your family and friends to receive, first let that 
truth be written on your heart by the Holy Spirit, and 
thus become that truth made flesh, so that your family 
and neighbors will have a chance to see the truth when 
they look at you, to hear the truth when they hear you, 
and to handle the truth when they shake hands with you. 
This is what the apostle John means when he writes of 
our Lord thus: — 

"That which was from the beginning, which we have 
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have 
looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word 
of life (for the life was manifested, and we have seen 
it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal 



168 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto 
us)." i John 2. 

Do you believe in the "blessed hope" of the second 
coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Do you 
want your neighbors to believe this truth? Then 
let that blessed hope live in your life, yes, be that 
blessed hope made flesh, so that your neighbors will fall 
in love with it by falling in love with your blessed life, 
which has been made blessed by the blessed hope. 

Do you want your neighbors to love that law which by 
the new covenant is written upon the heart? Then let 
it be written upon your heart. Furnish it a body. Let 
it be made flesh in your life, and thereby become "holy 
and just and good," as the law appeared when made 
flesh, when written within the heart of the Son of God. 

Reader, of these things here written this is the sum: 
The Lord wants you to bring the Word which you pro- 
fess, into the inner sanctuary of your heart. He wants 
your body in which to display to the world what His 
gospel will do for a sinful man. He wants His Word 
made flesh again in your life. He wants you to be a 
walking Bible before you are a talking Bible. He wants 
you to walk worthy of the high calling before you talk 
wisely of it. The letter killeth, but the Spirit maketh 
alive. This spiritless talking about the letter of the 
Word, that which is contradicted by the life of the talker, 
is w r hat is killing the cause of Christianity in the world 
to-day. Let the reader know assuredly that the Holy 
Spirit will not baptize with power for witnessing that man 
or woman whose words of witness are contradicted by 
the walk of life. If you are seeking for the Spirit with- 
out measure as experienced by the great Example and 
Teacher of the new covenant, then you must be as He 
was, the Word of God made flesh, 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



169 



It is shocking to hear men and women talk of being 
baptized with the Holy Ghost while their lives are any- 
thing but the light of the world, and while they are 
ignorant of the Word, and show no real desire to study 
it and have it built into their lives. I want to witness 
right here, with all the earnestness of my being, to the 
truth that I am unable to speak with power from on high 
any words but those of the Scriptures of truth, and no 
words from the Scriptures of truth except those words 
which have been made flesh and dwelt in my life. 

The thing which is the greatest enemy of the gospel 
of the kingdom to-day, is the preaching of a faith that is 
not made flesh, the teaching of a law that is not in the 
life, the teaching of a truth that is not traced on the 
tablets of the heart. This is what turns the world from 
the truth. This is what causes the Gentiles to blaspheme 
to-day as they did in the days of Paul. Here is God's 
estimate of that preaching of the Word which is not in the 
life: "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest 
thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not 
steal, dost thou steal? thou that say est a man should 
not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou 
that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? thou 
that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the 
law dishonorest thou God? For the name of God is 
blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written." 
Rom. 2:21-24. Then search the Scriptures as you never 
have done before. You can have the Spirit of truth to 
guide you into all truth. Having found the truth, then 
let the Spirit write it upon the tables of your heart, that 
the Spirit make you a sword of the Spirit; and then, and 
not till then, can you hope to be wielded by the Spirit 
with pentecostal power. "Receive with meekness the 



170 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



engrafted Word/' "Be partakers of the divine nature." 

"Receive ye the Holy Ghost." 



XXXIX 

"WHY MARVEL YE AT THIS?" 

Before the Lord can restore the gifts of healing to 
His servants to-day, they must reach the place in their 
experience where they will not get excited at the mani- 
festation of signs and wonders wdiich are wrought to 
confirm the Word. And the only man or woman who 
will be calm in the presence of miracles of healing, is the 
man or woman who is in possession of the power of 
God to save from sinning. The reason for this is that 
he who is kept by the power of God unto salvation is 
perpetually in the presence of the crowning miracle of 
the gospel. All other miracles are inferior to this mir- 
acle. All other miracles are servants to this miracle. 
All the miraculous gifts of the Spirit will fail "when that 
which is perfect is come/ 7 but this miracle will never 
fail. I Cor. 13:1-10. This crowning miracle will be 
exhibited by our Lord to be admired by all the uni- 
verse, in all "the ages to come/' as the glorious mani- 
festation of the exceeding riches of His grace. 

"And you hath He quickened, who were dead in tres- 
passes and sins; wherein in time past ye walked accord- 
ing to the course of this world, according to the prince of 
the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the 
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had 
our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, 
fulfiling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



171 



by natures the children of wrath, even as others. But 
God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith 
He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath 
quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye 
saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit 
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the 
ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of 
His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ 
Jesus." Eph. 2:1-7. 

How can that man or that woman who is in posses- 
sion of such an experience as this, who has thus been 
resurrected from the dead, and who is constantly kept 
alive by the "power of His resurrection," — how can such 
a one, who is constantly experiencing this miracle of all 
miracles, get excited at beholding another miracle which 
is only the handmaid of this one? 

This point is sometimes made, to evade the demand 
for the lesser miracles. But be assured it is not so 
made here. It is presented here to clear the King's 
highway, for the manifestation of all the miracles and 
wonders and signs which followed to confirm the Word 
in the apostolic days of purity and power. 

This running away from the gospel, which is the 
power of God unto salvation, after the less important 
signs and wonders, is a sad but certain witness that all 
who do it have not yet been anointed with the Holy 
Ghost, whereby they are able rightly to compare spir- 
itual things with spiritual. 

Before the day of Pentecost, the Lord sent out seventy 
disciples with the commission to "heal the sick," "and 
say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto 
you." From the report which they gave when they re- 
turned, it was apparent that they were in danger of los- 



172 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



ing sight of the gospel of the kingdom, and running 
away after miracles of less importance. They said 
nothing of the progress of the gospel of the kingdom, 
but spoke of the miracles they were able to perform. 

"And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, 
Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy 
name." To which the Lord answered in gentle reproof : 
"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and 
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and 
nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding 
in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; 
but rather rejoice, because your names are written in 
heaven." Luke 10:17-20. 

The climax by which this crowning miracle is reached 
is presented thus by Jesus in the sign to John the Bap- 
tist, that Christ was "He that should come:" "Go your 
way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; 
how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are 
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor 
the gospel is preached." Luke 7:22. 

After Pentecost, the apostles never failed to give 
these miracles their proper importance. All the miracles 
of that day but opened the way for the cry, "Repent, and 
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ 
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of 
the Holy Ghost." Acts 2:38. And when the cripple 
was healed at the Beautiful Gate, and all the people 
were "amazed" and "ran together unto them," "greatly 
wondering," Peter said: "Ye men of Israel, why marvel 
ye at this?" "'Repent ye therefore, and be converted." 
Acts 3:1-19. And to the rulers he said: "Ye rulers of 
the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day be exam- 
ined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



173 



what means he is made whole; be it known unto you 
all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of 
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God 
raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand 
here before you whole. . . . Neither is there salva- 
tion in any other; for there is none other name under 
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." 
Acts 4:8-12. 

Notwithstanding "God wrought special miracles by 
the hands of Paul/' we do not find either in his epistles, 
or sermons as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, any 
attempt to make prominent these miracles of healing. 
He did refer to them in a general way; but even then it 
was done largely to confirm his apostleship, which was 
questioned by certain "false brethren;" and then he did 
it reluctantly. "Christ, and Him crucified," was his 
message everywhere, to which he oft added, as his per- 
sonal testimony, the story of the miracle of his con- 
version. 

From all this it is clear that before God can work with 
us. confirming the Word with signs following, we must 
experience the miracle of all miracles, salvation from 
sin and sinning, and hold that miracle in our hearts, and 
in the hearing of the multitude, high above all miracles 
which are granted to confirm this, the chief of miracles. 
Then this great barrier to the coming of the confirming 
miracles will be cleared away. 

To this I wish to bear witness by relating an expe- 
rience which came under my observation. A young 
minister was associated with others in gospel labor at a 
large religious gathering. A few sick people were 
healed in connection with the preaching of the Word. 
He had never seen it on this wise before, and he was 



174 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



much stirred by this manifestation of God's healing 
power. He preceded the other minisrers to the next ap- 
pointment, and immediately began to call attention to 
the miracles of healing which he had witnessed. Soon 
the congregation was all absorbed with the theme of 
physical healing. At this point he visited a barber shop 
and contracted the barber's itch, which soon manifested 
itself in large sores on his neck, so located as to be in 
plain view. "How can I preach healing, and pray with 
the sick, while thus afflicted myself:'' he reasoned. 
"Will not the people say, 'Physician, heal thyself? I 
must be healed." Prayer was offered, and although 
one person present was instantly healed, he was not. 
This was the situation when the other ministers arrived. 
The young man, with great concern, related this expe- 
rience, and asked why he was not healed. Xot being 
acquainted with the course he had pursued, they could 
not explain his disappointment. The next day he came 
to them, his face beaming with the light of a new truth 
which had dawned upon him. He said in substance: 
"Now I understand. Xow the Lord can heal. I made 
the mistake of calling the attention of the people to mir- 
acles of healing, when they needed first to be healed or 
their sinning/''' Xot only did he make this private 
acknowledgment of his errror, but he made a voluntary 
public confession to the same effect. Prayer was again 
offered, and he was healed, and made happy with the 
truth thus emphasized, that the healing of the soul from 
sin is the first great miracle, which the Lord would have 
impressed upon His sinning people. 

This grand truth, if experienced by ministers and peo- 
ple in the church of God, will not only clear the King's 
highway for the manifestation of the fulness of the prom- 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 175 



ised power, but it will save all who believe it from being 
deceived by the "all power and signs and lying wonders" 
which are predicted, and which are already appearing, 
to deceive, if it were possible, the very elect. 

Who that reads these lines will yield himself to the 
miracle of God's saving and keeping power? And then, 
in the joyful possession of this miracle, and with it an 
unquenchable longing to bear it to others, who will con- 
tinue to pray for those "mighty signs and wonders, by 
the power of the Spirit of God," which wrought in the 
early days of purity and power, "to make the Gentiles 
obedient" to the Gospel? Rom. 15:18, 19. To this end 
these lines are penned. 



Another witness by letter:— 

"I am only too glad to tell you that the anchor holds; 
and, more than that, it is going to hold; for I have given 
myself and all I ever expect to be to Christ, and so I 
can not fail. The Bible is the most wonderful book in 
the world. I have just begun to learn how to study it. 
I never expected to see any miracle performed; but I 
think it was a greater miracle to straighten me up than 
it was to straighten that crooked woman spoken of in 
Luke 13:11; and more, too, because I had been in sin 
three years longer than she had been under the power 
of disease. I praise God for His keeping power. 
Praise God for the power that can keep any one from 
smoking, swearing, and out of bad company!" 



176 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



XL 

MIRACLES OF HEALING AND HEALTH REFORM. 
SALVATION FOR THE BODY 

The gospel includes sanctification of the body. "And 
the very God of peace sanctify you wholly" says the 
Word. xAnd the next sentence explains what is meant 
by being "wholly" sanctified: "And I pray God your 
whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.'' I Thess. 5:23. 

Sanctification is complete salvation from sin. 'Thou 
shaft call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people 
from their sins" Matt. 1:21. The salvation of Jesus, 
therefore, includes the salvation of the spirit, soul, and 
body from sin. It is possible, therefore, to sin against 
the body. "Know ye not that your body is the temple 
of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of 
God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with 
a price; therefore glorify God in your body" which 
is His. 1 Cor. 6:19, 20. "If any man defile the tem- 
ple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of 
God is holy, which temple ye are.'"' 1 Cor. 3:17. God 
must, therefore, save us from sinning against, or defiling 
the body, since our bodies must be presented blameless 
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

But how is sanctification for the body accomplished? 
How may we present our bodies blameless at the com- 
ing of our Lord Jesus Christ? — By the same process 
and by the same power by which the soul is presented 
blameless. Complete sanctification of the soul is accom- 
plished by completely separating the soul from sin. But 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



177 



God does not separate a soul from sin without that soul's 
knowledge and consent. How could He? How could I 
be saved from committing a sin which I did not know to 
be a sin? If I do not know it to be wrong, I must of 
necessity think it right. How can God save me from 
doing that w T hich is sin, while I consider it to be right- 
eousness, or right doing? It is, therefore, plain that 
God must first show me that the thing is sin before I 
can be saved from it. This is Bible sanctification. 
"Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth." 
John 17:17. Perfect sanctification, therefore, necessi- 
tates a perfect knowledge of the truth; or in other words, 
a perfect knowledge of the Word, for "Thy Word is 
truth." 

Thus it is plain that God can not sanctify a sinner 
while the sinner continues sinning. He can not sanctify 
sin. All this applies to the sanctification of the body. 
God can not sanctify the body, or save the body from 
sin, can not heal it or restore it to a blameless body, with- 
out first pointing out those physical sins which defile or 
destroy the body. 

Should the Lord heal, or sanctify, the body before the 
cause of the sickness is pointed out and put away, He 
would, in the healing, supply His own strength to the 
transgressor to be used in further transgression. He 
would be saving the transgressor against the laws of 
health, in his sins and not from his sins. Not only this, 
but He would make it impossible ever to save the sinner 
from his sins. For if the transgressor was continually 
saved from the results of his transgressions, he would 
never know the seriousness of transgression, nor realize 
the necessity of ceasing to transgress. The health which 
God gave would be consumed on his appetites and 

12 



178 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



pleasures, and thus God would be furnishing His mi- 
raculous power to be used in violating the laws of life 
and health. This would make Christ a minister of sin. 
"Is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid." 
Gal. 2:17. 

To illustrate: One is made sick and kept sick by 
wrong habits or sins in eating, or drinking, or dressing, 
or working. In order to save the sinner from his sins 
the Lord points out the sin, and calls for a reform; but 
the reform calls for self-denial, which the transgressor is 
unwilling to make, because it conflicts with his appetite, 
or pride, or ambitions. He continues to grieve the 
Spirit by transgression, yet asks prayer for healing, — 
asks that the Holy Spirit, which pointed out the sin, be 
manifested to heal, while he uses this added health to 
add to his transgressions. By this course he virtually 
says to the Lord: "I want to be saved from the results of 
sinning, but I do not want to stop sinning. I know that 
my sickness is the result of wrong habits of life; but I 
want to be healed so that I may live and continue in sin. 
I don't want to be saved from sin; I want to be saved 
in sin." 

From all this, it is plain that for God to heal the body 
without pointing out the transgressions against the 
body which are responsible for the sickness, would be to 
nullify the whole plan of salvation, which is to save the 
people from their sins, not in their sins. 

He who teaches sanctification for the soul, and does 
not point out the sins of the soul and call for a separa- 
tion from sin, is not working in harmony with the gos- 
pel plan of salvation. Likewise he who professes to 
heal the body, and does not point out the sins against 
the body, those wrong habits of life which are responsible 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



179 



for sickness, and present the gospel of salvation from 
these sins, is not working in harmony with Jesus Christ, 
the Author of our salvation; for He said to the man 
whom He had healed at the pool of Bethesda, "Behold, 
thou art made whole ; sin no more, lest a worse thing come 
unto thee." John 5:14. 

This truth constitutes one of the infallible tests by 
which the true and false teachers of healing are to be 
tested. It is not the only test, but it is an important one, 
and if applied to-day, will brand as false a multitude of 
persons professing to possess the power to heal. 

There stood on the streets of one of our large cities 
a widely-advertised "great healer." A multitude was 
flocking to him to be healed. His beard was trimmed 
to resemble the purported pictures of the Son of God. 
I went near to hear and see. I saw him pressing his 
fingers on the patient's spine, and looking up to heaven, 
but no sins were pointed out, and no gospel of salvation 
from sin was proclaimed. 

Reader, be not deceived. "By their fruits ye shall 
know them." "Preach the kingdom of God," and "heal 
the sick," is the commission from Him whom God sent 
"to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his 
iniquities." Acts 3:26. 

The presence of so much that is false pleads eloquently 
for the presence of the true. Let every soul who holds 
the prosperity of truth above his chief joy, cease not to 
pray until the "all power" "in heaven and in earth" shall 
be revealed to meet the "all power and signs and lying 
wonders" which are appearing in these last days. 



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XLI 

LYING WONDERS 

It is the plan of the enemy of all truth to counterfeit 
every manifestation of the power of God, and through 
that counterfeit to deceive the world and lead it to de- 
struction. 

According to the Scriptures of truth, this counterfeit- 
ing of the work of God is to reach its climax of power 
to deceive and destroy, in the closing events of the last 
days. That Satan through his agents will work mir- 
acles and signs and wonders to deceive, and that this 
work of deception is to be especially manifest in the last 
days, is plainly proved by the following scriptures : — 

"Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all 
power and signs and lying wonders , and w ith all deceiv- 
ableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because 
they received not the love of the truth, that they might 
be saved." 2 Thess 2:9, 10. "And he deceiveth them 
that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles 
which he had power to do." Rev. 13:14. "For they 
are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go 
forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, 
to gather them to the battle of that great day of God 
Almighty." Rev. 16:13, 14. "There shall arise false 
christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs 
and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they 
shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you 
before." Matt. 24:24, 25. 

From these startling statements of divine truth, it is 
clear that a correct understanding of the Scriptures con- 



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181 



cerning miracles is of vital importance. First of all, it is 
all-important that he who would not be deceived, must 
believe that the agents of Satan have power to "show 
great signs and wonders" and "miracles," as the above 
Scriptures plainly declare. And here is the reason: 
When Satan does perform great signs and wonders and 
miracles, the man who does not believe the declaration 
of our Lord that Satan has power to do so, will attribute 
the miracles to the power of God. How could he be 
worse deceived than to believe that the power and work 
of Satan is the power and work of God? 

A correct understanding of what is meant by the term 
"miracle" in this connection is essential. From our 
standpoint a miracle, or sign, or wonder is any manifes- 
tation of power which we can not explain as the working 
of what we call natural law r . It may be wrought in har- 
mony with the laws of nature; but if it is in a field of 
nature beyond our knowledge of the natural, it is to us 
,?tt/>ernatural, i. e., above our knowledge of the natural. 

Satan, under the symbol of the "king of Tyrus," is 
described by the prophet as sealing "up the sum, full of 
wisdom," and as having once held the position of "the 
anointed cherub that covereth." This position accord- 
ing to Exodus 25:17-22, and Ps. 80:1, is one of two 
positions nearest the throne of God. Is it not reason- 
able to conclude that the one who is now called "the 
god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4) and "the prince of the 
power of the air" (Eph. 2:2), should be acquainted with 
forces of nature not known to man? Christ and His 
apostles made use of "miracles and wonders and signs" 
to show the power of God and advance His kingdom; 
then is it to be wondered at that Satan and his fol- 
lowers should use their power and knowledge to do 



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"great signs and wonders," to deceive the world and 
advance the kingdom of darkness? 

It is not contended that Satan is able to do the same 
miracles which our Lord and His disciples performed, 
but only that he performs similar miracles. While they 
are not the same, they are nevertheless miracles ,— the 
manifestation of supernatural power; and so fax as men 
are able to judge, they will appear to be the same mir- 
acles. 

Inasmuch as the Word plainly declares that Satan will 
work miracles to deceive, and since all miracles are, so 
far as men are concerned, supernatural, and therefore 
beyond our power to explain, it follows that it is unwise 
to investigate miracles for the purpose of ascertaining 
their author. No one who is instructed in the Scriptures 
will ever attempt to determine the author of a miracle by 
investigating the miracle. All that the miracle shows, 
standing alone, is the presence of supernatural power. 

While the authorship of miracles can not be deter- 
mined by examining the miracles, yet there is a way by 
which it can be determined. Our Lord, who has 
warned us against the miracles, has furnished an in- 
fallible test by which their authorship may be deter- 
mined. Here is the test: — 

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in 
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather 
grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every 
good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree 
bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree can not bring 
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good 
fruit. . . . Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know 
them." Matt. 7:15-20. 



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183 



It will be noticed that the Lord does not say, Ye shall 
know them by their "great signs and wonders/' but, "Ye 
shall know them by their fruits." We are therefore to 
discern the author of miracles by the fruits, and not by 
the miracles. This important truth was first taught by 
the Lord to the Israelites, thus: — 

"If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of 
dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wond^ r , and the sign 
or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, 
saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not 
known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not harken 
unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of 
dreams; for the Lord your God proveth you, to know 
whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart 
and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord 
your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, 
and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave 
unto Him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of 
dreams, shall be put to death." Deut. 13:1-5. 

It will be noted again that the Lord does not instruct 
us to investigate the miracle. He Himself admits the 
fact that a miracle has been wrought; but He instructs 
us to investigate the teaching and the fruits which ac- 
company the miracle. 

Just as there is a distinction in the gospel system be- 
tween the "gifts of the Spirit" and the "fruit of the 
Spirit," so there is a difference in the miraculous powers 
of the "spirits of devils" and the fruits of their teaching. 
While the miracles are beyond our power to judge, the 
fruits are not. While Satan will successfully counter- 
feit miracles, as he did at the court of Pharaoh, he can 
not counterfeit the fruits of the Spirit. Reader, remem- 
ber this truth, if you would be delivered from the de- 



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lusions of the last days. Don't investigate the miracle. 
Admit the miracle, and challenge the fruits. 

Those who finally escape deception by "those miracles 
which he had power to do," will be men and women 
who are so fortified by what the Lord has told them be- 
fore in the Scriptures, that they will stand unmoved in 
the presence of "great signs and wonders," in the pres- 
ence of the "working of Satan with all power and signs 
and lying wonders/' and will refuse that teaching to sup- 
port which the great signs and wonders are wrought. 

Let it be here understood that the miracles of Satan 
are but a means to an end. Just as the signs and won- 
ders of Christ were wrought to confirm the word of 
truth, the gospel of salvation, so the signs and wonders 
of Satan are wrought to confirm the teaching of error, 
the doctrines of destruction. 

Not only must those who escape the deceptions of 
Satan refuse to accept error though it be supported by 
great signs and wonders, but they must reject the error 
even when the signs and wonders that appear in support 
of it, are wrought by those professing to be Christians, 
and whose outward appearance can not be distinguished 
from that of the genuine Christian. Our Saviour says, 
"Beware of false prophets, >/hich come to you in sheep's 
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." The 
term "sheep" stands in the Scriptures for true Chris- 
tians. "Sheep's clothing," therefore, in this connection, 
must mean that the deceivers will bear the outward ap- 
pearance of genuine Christians. This the apostle Paul 
plainly teaches in the following scripture: — 

"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, 
fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. And no 
marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel 



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185 



of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers 
also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness." 
2 Cor. n :i3-i5, R. V. 

But not only will the ministers of Satan fashion 
themselves into ministers of righteousness in all 
their outward appearance while working great signs 
and wonders, but these signs and wonders will be 
wrought in the name of Christ. "For many shall 
come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall de- 
ceive many/' Matt. 24:5. "Many will say to Me in 
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy 
name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy 
name done many wonderful works? And then will I 
profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, 
ye that work iniquity." Matt. 7:22, 23. 

If these workers did not believe that they had really 
cast out devils and done many wonderful works in the 
name of Christ, they would not presume to face Him 
with such self-justifying questions. The startling truth 
is now clearly before us, that the ministers of Satan will 
not only work miracles, but they will perform them with 
all the outward appearance of ministers of righteous- 
nesc —perform them in the sincere belief that they are 
really casting out devils, and really doing zvonderfid works 
with the power and approval of Jesus Christ, 

Therefore, he who would escape being deceived by 
the overmastering deceptions of the last days, must be 
prepared to stand unmoved in the presence of one who 
lays his hands on the sick, and, with the firm belief in 
himself that he is a minister of righteousness, a disciple 
of Christ, but is not, calls on the God of heaven in the 
name of Christ to manifest His Holy Spirit and heal. 
He must be unmoved by that which to all appearances 



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is a wonderful miracle of healing, which the professed 
minister believes to be a miracle, and which the patient 
believes to be a miracle wrought by the mighty power of 
God. "Who shall be able to stand!" 

There are several searching questions which arise at 
this point. One of them is, How is it that a man can be 
so deceived as really to believe that he is a minister of 
righteousness when he is the minister of Satan? This 
and other related questions will be answered in the next 
chapter. 



XLII 

DECEIVING AND BEING DECEIVED 

It is sad indeed to contemplate the fact that many 
will come to judgment so deceived that they will really 
believe that they have prophesied, cast out devils, and 
done many wonderful works in the name of Christ. 
Matt. 7:22, 23. The reason for their deception is plainly 
stated in the Scriptures. "In the last days perilous times 
shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, 
covetous, boasters, proud, . . . lovers of pleasures 
more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, 
but denying the power thereof. . . . Now as Jannes 
and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist 
the truth; men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning 
the faith. . . . Evil men and seducers shall wax 
worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." 
2 Tim. 3:1-13. 

In the fourth chapter of 2 Timothy, which is but a 
continuation of the thought in the third, the apostle 
Paul explains more clearly how men reach that condi- 



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187 



lion where they become victims of such terrible self- 
deception. Here is the reason: "I charge thee there- 
fore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His 
kingdom: Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of 
season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering 
and doctrine. For the time will come when they will 
not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall 
they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 
and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall 
be turned unto fables." 2 Tim. 4:1-14. 

The apostle completes the description of their decep- 
tion in these words: ''Whose coming is after the work- 
ing of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them 
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, 
that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall 
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a 
lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the 
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteouness." 2 Thess. 
2:9-12. 

These scriptures make the matter very plain. The 
only means which God has for saving man from error 
and the delusions of Satan, is by the truth — u Thy Word 
is truth'' — by the sound doctrine of the Scriptures of 
truth. And when men will not receive the love of the 
truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness; when they 
will not endure sound doctrine, but turn away their ears 
from the truth, and listen to fables, there is nothing left 
that God can do but permit them to be deceived by 
the strong delusions which must result from following 
fables. No man will come to the judgment self- 
deceived, who has not at some time in his experience 



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stood face to face with truth. And because that truth 
called for self-denial, as truth always does, and because 
that truth was unpopular, as truth always is, he turned 
his ear away from the truth to the fables of false 
prophets; and instead of believing the truth, he came to 
believe a lie. 

Reader, if you have come face to face with the truth, 
and turned away your ear from hearing it at any time in 
your life, I exhort you in the name of the Lord, delay 
not to turn your ear back to hear that truth and obey 
it at any cost. Let no honest seeker after truth fear 
that God will not be able to pilot him amid the hidden 
rocks and destructive quicksands which must be passed 
before we reach the haven. The Lord has promised 
that "if any man willeth to do His will, he shall know" 
''the doctrine." 

A knowledge of sound doctrine is essential if the be- 
liever would be delivered from the delusions of the last 
days. The signs and wonders of the ministers of Satan 
are wrought to persuade the people to believe false doctrine. 
There is salvation from his doctrines in sound doctrine. 
Here is an illustration: here is one sound doctrine of 
Scripture which, if believed, would instantly sweep away 
a multitude of deceptions. One lie which the signs and 
wonders of Satan are wrought to confirm, is that Christ's 
second coming will not occur in the manner described in 
the Scriptures. The Lord tells us that the workers of 
signs and wonders will teach false doctrine concerning 
the manner of His coming, and warns us not to believe 
them. Here is the scripture: — 

' 'There shall arise false christs, and false prophets, 
and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, 
if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 



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189 



Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall 
say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert, go not forth; 
behold, He is in the secret chambers, believe it not. 
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth 
even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of 
Man be." Matt. 24:24-27. 

This sound doctrine, if believed, would quickly un- 
mask both the miracle-working delusions, Christian 
Science and Spiritualism; for both of them are saying, 
Here is Christ, and denying His literal, personal com- 
ing in the clouds of heaven as described in the Scrip- 
tures of truth. 

With the plain declarations of Christ as to the manner 
of His coming, what excuse will any man have in the 
judgment for having believed the fables of Christian Sci- 
ence or Spiritualism, even though these fables were sup- 
ported by great signs and wonders? Do not the Scrip- 
tures of truth warn us beforehand that great signs and 
wonders will be wrought by those who will teach error 
concerning the second coming of Christ? The pres- 
ence of miracles, therefore, is no excuse for being de- 
ceived. Miracles are to be judged by their fruits as to 
whether these fruits are in harmony with sound doctrine. 
This truth is taught all through the Scriptures. The 
prophet Isaiah^ after describing a last-day delusion under 
which men leave the all-wise God and seek the dead for 
knowledge, admonishes the people to test the teaching 
and the miracles by sound doctrine. "To the law and 
to the testimony; if they speak not according to this 
Word, it is because there is no light in them." Isa. 
8:19, 20. With this explicit warning before us, what 
excuse will any man have for being ruined by these 
delusions? 



190 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



In Rev. 13:14 we read that the ministers of Satan 
deceive "them that dwell on the earth by the means of 
these miracles which he had power to do." Of those 
who escape this deception we read, "Here are they that 
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 
Rev. 14:12. Thus it is again that the appeal of the un- 
deceived will be to sound doctrine, and if the fruit of the 
teaching leads away from "the commandments of God, 
and the faith of Jesus," it will not be followed, notwith- 
standing the "miracles which he had power to do." 

In Matt. 7 :22 we learn the awfully sad fact that men will 
come to judgment really believing that they have proph- 
esied and cast out devils in the name of Christ. But the 
preceding verse gives the reason, as follows: "Not every 
one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the 
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My 
Father which is in heaven." Thus again the reason for 
the deception is found in the failure to do the will of God 
as taught in the Scriptures. Those who obey the Word 
have the following precious promises: "Because thou 
hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee 
from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all 
the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Rev. 
3:10. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and 
they follow Me; and I give unto them eternal life; and 
they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them 
out of My hand." John 10:27, 28. "Fear not, little 
flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you 
the kingdom." Luke 12:32. 

It has been asked, Will Satan really heal? Will the 
ministers of Satan cast out devils? Does Satan cast 
out Satan? It can be confidently affirmed from the 
teaching of Scripture that Satan will never cast out 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



191 



Satan; for this would be to break his dominion over the 
soul, and he will never be found doing this. But that 
his ministers will do that which will appear to be casting 
out devils, is evident. There are many ways by which 
Satan exercises his control over men. The Pharisees 
were as really under the dominion of Satan as were 
those out of whom the Lord cast the devils. He said of 
them, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of 
your father ye will do." John 8:44. 

The devil can change the manner of his control, and 
still retain power over his victim. Thereby he strength- 
ens his deceptions not only over the victim, but over 
those who regard the miracle as a manifestation of the 
power of God in casting out devils. Here is an illus- 
tration: A man was trying to convince the writer that 
Spiritualism was a blessing. He declared in support of 
his contention, that he had been saved from drunken- 
ness by means of Spiritualism. "As a result you are 
now a confirmed Spiritualist?" I replied; to which he 
answered, "Yes." "Now," I added, "you are harder to 
reach with the truth than if you were a drunkard." 

In the same way Satan will appear to heal disease and 
cast out devils, and so far as the manifestation itself is 
concerned, it will be impossible to deny that a miracle 
has been wrought. But there will be no real deliver- 
ance from his dominion ; but only a shifting of symptoms, 
a change in the manner of control, whereby he will be 
able to deepen his deception. It is true that many of 
the wonders of healing can be accounted for on the 
psychological truth that the mind has much to do with 
the healing of the body. But, as before stated, the 
appeal is not to miracles, but to the fruits of the teach- 
ing in support of which the miracles are set forth. Mir- 



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acles which can not be denied, and which can not be 
accounted for in harmony with the known laws of na- 
ture, will be wrought, and it is not wise to investigate 
the miracle. Admit the miracle and challenge the fruits. 
"By their fruits ye shall know them." 

But since we are to know them by their fruits, it fol- 
lows that we must know the fruits zvhen ive see them. If 
we can not recognize coveting in ourselves, we will not 
know it in the worker of wonders. "I had not known 
coveting," says the apostle Paul, "except the law had 
said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom, 7:7, R. V. "By the 
law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20. That which 
is true of this tenth commandment is true of the other 
nine. No man would have known Sabbath-breaking 
except the law had said, "The seventh day is the Sab- 
bath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any 
work." Ex. 20:10. And he who does not know the 
fruits of Sabbath-breaking in his own life, will not know 
the fruits of Sabbath-breaking in the teaching of the 
workers of wonders. 

He who would know the fruits of the false, must him- 
self be delivered from the false, and he who w T ould know 
the fruit of the true, must have the truth written upon his 
heart by the "Spirit of Truth." He can not and need 
not trust to the judgment and experience of another. 
"After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in 
their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. . . . 
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, 
and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for 
they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the 
greatest of them, saith the Lord.' Jer. 31:33, 34. They 
who are delivered from delusion, will be "those who by 
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both 
good and evil." Heb. 5:14. 



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193 



Now of the things we have written, reader, this is the 
sum: You will not be deceived by the devil by "those 
miracles which he had power to do," if you do not grieve 
away the Spirit which is sent to you to "guide you into 
all truth," by rejecting the truth to which the Spirit 
guides you. And you will not escape the deceiving 
power of the "'great signs and wonders'' unless you 
yourself are perfectly acquainted with the fruits of the 
Spirit, yourself "being fruitful in even- good work " 
(Col. 1:10) because you are yourself "filled with the 
Spirit." "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." 



XLIII 

HOW APOSTLES AND PROPHETS ARE CHOSEN 

Because the gifts of the Spirit should be present in the 
church — because there should be apostles, prophets, 
evangelists, pastors, and teachers, it does not follow that 
it is the work of the church to elect them. There are 
those, who, finding that the perfect, scriptural church 
has all these offices, have gone about to make a perfect 
church by electing men to fill these positions. Having 
done this, they talk much of the apostolic church, and 
point to their apostles, prophets, and evangelists, and 
challenge others to point out these gifts in their 
churches. While it is true that all these gifts belong to 
the true church, and while it is sad that all these gifts 
do not appear in the church, yet it is sadder to see these 
positions filled by men who were placed there by the vote 
of their brethren, not because they were anointed by the 
Holy Ghost to exercise the gifts, but because it is seen 

13 



194 



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that these offices exist in the perfect church, and because 
it is thought to be the duty of the church to keep all 
these offices filled. 

But apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and 
teachers, with all the other instrumentalities through 
whom the gifts of the Spirit are manifested in the church, 
are chosen, qualified, and sent of God to the church to 
be received or rejected by the church. The office does 
not qualify the man, the man must first be qualified for 
the office. 

Israel never elected her true prophets. She did 
choose some prophets, but they were all false prophets. 
God elected all the true prophets and sent them to warn 
Israel; and it was left to Israel to receive or reject them, 
but not to elect them. 

"And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by 
His messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because 
He had compassion on His people, and on His dwelling 
place; but they mocked the messengers of God, and 
despised His words, and misused His prophets." 
2 Chron. 36:15, 16. 

"Behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and 
scribes.'' Matt. 23:34. 

"And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, 
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that mir- 
acles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversi- 
ties of tongues." 1 Cor. 12:28. 

Apostles and prophets made by the church would 
serve those who made them, as the false prophets which 
backslidden Israel made served her; but all the human 
agents through whom God manifests the gifts of the 
Spirit, are chosen and sent of God to serve Him, not the 
people. 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



195 



Paul is an illustration of the relative relation which 
the Lord and the people sustain to those who exercise 
the gifts of the Spirit. The Lord chose Paul to exer- 
cise the gift of an apostle. It was left with the church 
to recognize that God had set Paul in their midst as an 
apostle. It was several years before the church recog- 
nized Paul's apostleship; but all this time he was recog- 
nized by the Lord as an apostle. The story of Paul's 
experience in being recognized by the church as an apos- 
tle, is found in the first and second chapters of Galatians, 
a portion of which reads thus: — 

"And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to 
be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, 
they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fel- 
lowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they 
unto the circumcision." Gal. 2:9. 

All this teaches that God elects men to exercise the 
gifts of the Spirit in the church, and that it is left with 
the church to recognize the grace which has been given 
them, or to reject them. It therefore follows that if some 
of the gifts are lacking in the church, it is not the work of 
the church to go about to fill the vacant offices by elect- 
ing men to them. The work of the church is to put 
away sin and seek the Lord to manifest the missing 
gifts, and to ask for grace to discern them when He does 
manifest them. 

Better by far have the seats empty than to have them 
occupied by men whom God has not seated. For when 
the seats are filled, the church is satisfied, and will not 
humble herself and seek God for the missing gifts. And 
again, when the seats are filled by the will of men, those 
thus seated are sure to fight those whom God sends to 
occupy the seats. 



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While it is humbling to see empty seats where the 
gifts of the Spirit should appear, yet it is more humbling 
to see them filled by those who have a form of godliness 
without the power. The church which leaves the seats 
empty, and waits and prays to God to fill them, shows 
more spiritual discernment, and is far more apostolic, 
than one which fills these seats with men whom God has 
not qualified and sent. 



XLIV 

WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK? 

Since we must have a church with apostolic purity be- 
fore we can have a church with apostolic power, what is 
the outlook for such a church? Will it ever appear? 
Will it not require many years to cleanse the church, if, 
indeed, it will ever be done? How and by whom will it 
be accomplished? 

The heat of the furnace was like the seven-fold heated 
furnace of Nebuchadnezzar. Through the great air- 
shafts there came a mighty, rushing wind, and it fanned 
the flames into a fury. Tongues of fire darted through 
the great mass of limestone and coke and iron ore. Men 
were unloading into this fiery furnace a kind of rock in 
which they said were gold and silver. I picked up a 
glittering piece of ore, and thought I saw gold, but the 
guide said it was pyrites of iron. "It is not all gold that 
glitters." 

Then we went below, to the base of the furnace. The 
mighy, rushing wind had fanned the furnace fires to 
smelting heat, and the coke, and the limestone, and the 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



197 



iron, and the quartz, and the copper, and the gold, and 
the silver, were all a molten sea. 

And then I saw a wonder. There were two outlets on 
different sides of the furnace. From the larger one 
there flowed a great fiery stream. They told me it was 
the limestone and coke and iron and quartz. From the 
smaller opening there ran forth a little stream of precious 
metals. Substances which had dwelt together for ages 
in the bosom of the earth, now ran away from each other 
with a haste that seemed to voice a mutual hate. 

The little particles of precious metals that had been 
scattered through the ore and imprisoned in their rocky 
cells for centuries, now ran together and embraced each 
other with a speed and sparkle that looked akin to joy. 
This was the miner's harvest-time. 

As I thought upon the fiery furnace, which men call 
a smelter, and saw how easily they could separate the 
precious metal from the base, I remembered the precious 
children of God who are mingled with the base in the 
church and the world, and I sighed and said, "Oh, for a 
Divine Smelter 1" 

Then the Lord spake through His Word and said: 
"He shall baptize you w T ith the Holy Ghost, and with 
fire; whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly 
purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; 
but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 
Matt. 3:11, 12. "Behold, I will send My messenger, 
and He shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, 
whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even 
the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; be- 
hold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who 
may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand 
when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and 



198 POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



like fullers' soap; and He shall sit as a refiner and puri- 
fier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and 
purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto 
the Lord an offering in righteousness." Mai. 3:1-3. 

The Holy Spirit is the Lord's smelting furnace. In it 
He separates the precious from the base. It purifies 
the gold, and causes it to shine forth in all its heavenly 
luster, while it burns up the hypocritical glitter of the 
dross. 

These furnace fires were kindled on the day of Pente- 
cost, when the mighty, rushing wind came to the "upper 
room," followed by the tongues of fire. Into this furnace 
there was cast the new-born church of Jesus Christ; but 
the dross had already been burned out, and the pure 
gold only shone the brighter amid the glare of the 
furnace fires. Then the Lord cast into the furnace the 
Jewish church, with its priesthood of pomp and pride, 
and then the whole Gentile world, with its tinsel and 
show. The mighty, rushing wind continued to blow, 
and the tongues of fire continued to burn, until the whole 
was a molten sea and the pure was separated from the 
vile, and under God's furnace fires the world was sepa- 
rated into but two elements, — the precious and the base, 
martyrs and murderers. 

This was God's early harvest-time, the first-fruits of 
the great last-day harvest. Oh, that the church had kept 
the furnace fires burning at smelting heat! But they 
were allowed to cool, and the precious and the base are 
to-day mingled in a mighty mass, awaiting the furnace 
fires which the Holy Ghost has again begun to fan to 
smelting heat. 

Yes, it has begun. There is a movement toward the 
"upper room" among those who sigh and cry for all the 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



199 



abominations which are done in the midst of a back- 
slidden church. There is a crying to God for "power 
from on high.*' There is a baptizing of the Holy Ghost. 
There is a running together of the "free gold," — of those 
in whom the purging fires are burning, and from whose 
faces the Lord has wiped the wrinkling dross of sin. A 
nucleus is forming, like the nucleus that formed on the 
day of Pentecost. And soon again the whole church 
and the world will be in the baptistry of God's burning 
presence, in His latter-day furnace. Forth from its 
purifying flames will come the church of God, though 
only a remnant, without spot or wrinkle or any such 
thing. 

I said the furnace fires had begun to burn. How do 
I know? — Because I have felt the flame. And many 
men and women in the church to which I belong 
have cast themselves into the purifying furnace of God's 
Holy Spirit; and I have seen the great Refiner of 
silver wipe from their darkened faces the wrinkling 
dross of sin, and leave them shining with holy consecra- 
tion. And this holy shining is throwing its search-light 
upon those who are base and vile within the church, and 
they can not endure the glory; for the separating time 
has come, because the Holy Ghost has come; "but who 
may abide the day of His coming?" 

These two elements can not long dwell together under 
the smelting power of the Holy Spirit. They do not 
belong together. One is the tried gold of faith; the 
other is base unbelief; and under the baptismal fire of 
the Holy Spirit, the man of faith will flee from the Baby- 
lon of unbelief, even as Lot fled from Sodom. 

It was after the service. For ten days we had been 
in the purifying furnace. We had just prayed for the 



200 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



Holy Spirit for witnessing power. I shook hands with 
a minister and his wife, members of another denomina- 
tion, who were present at the service. After expressing 
their sympathy with the work of the meeting, the wife 
asked with earnest frankness, "Do your people live 
this?" And again, "Are all your people receiving the 
Spirit thus?" When told that the work was going from 
conference to conference like a prairie fire, she answered, 
"I am so glad." Then she explained her joy: "In yoviuer 
church there is a faithful mother in Israel who protests 
against the woridward drift of her church. She refuses 
to share its pride and worldly pleasure. God is blessing 
her with His Spirit. Over in that other church there is a 
man of God. He is a living rebuke to his backslidden 
church, and God is blessing him with His Spirit. But 
there ought to be a whole church somewhere baptized 
with the Holy Ghost." 

These words burned into my soul. True, there ought 
to be a whole church somewhere baptized with the Holy 
Ghost. This is one of many heart-cries from the im- 
prisoned gold. And God will answer that cry. There 
will be a baptized church; yes, a visible church. The 
Lord left a visible, baptized church when He went away, 
and He declared that the gates of hell should not prevail 
against that church; and they will not. When He re- 
turns, He will find a visible church baptized with the 
Holy Ghost, without spot or wrinkle, awaiting His 
return. 

There is an ever-increasing procession leading towards 
the "upper room." Reader, are you one of them? And 
just as the precious metals obeyed the divine law and 
left the lighter, baser metal, and ran together, so the 
gold that is mixed with the base in the church and the 



POWER FOR WITNESSING. 



201 



world, under the smelting heat of the Holy Ghost will 
yet hear the voice of God from heaven, saying: "Baby- 
lon the great is fallen, is fallen. . . . Come out of 
her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and 
that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have 
reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her 
iniquities. " 

The furnace fires have begun to burn. God's latter- 
day harvest will soon be gathered. Reader, are you in 
the furnace? Are you being ba l "4zed with the Holy 
Ghost? Are you willing to be cleansed? If so, get into 
the furnace. "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." 



JUST PUBLISHED 



Christ's Object Lessons 

By ELLEN G. WHITE 



A beautiful, simple, yet powerful work. The marvelous par- 
ables of the great Teacher are clothed by the author with new 
beauty, and God in Christ is revealed in clearest lines as the One 
"altogether lovely." Of intense interest to all classes of readers. 
It is a fitting companion to the author 's popular work, "Desire of 
Ages. ' ' Should certainly be found in every Christian home. It is 
a "banner raiser, a standard bearer, and a soul saver . " 

A comprehensive scriptural and general index enables reader 
or student to refer readily to any portion of the work. 

Clearly printed in modern style on fine special paper. 

450 pages, ha.ndsomely illustrated with a profusion of original 
engravings, specially prepared for the work. 



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The Desire of Ages 

By ELLEN G. WHITE 



" The Desire of Ages" is a large volume of 866 jxio-inch 
pages, the keynote of which is the great truth that " God was in 
Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. " 

Christ said, "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto 
Me" The working out of this purpose is traced through the life 
of Christ o?t earth. It is shown how Christ, as man's represent- 
ative, endured the temptations by which man is overcome, and 
conquered in his behalf ; a7id that man, becoming partaker of the 
divine nature, is enabled to overcome as Christ overcame. God in 
Christ, and Christ in His followers, can withstand all the power of 
Satan. And as Christ came to reveal the love of God, so His 
followers are to reveal the love of Christ. 

From another standpoint this volume is a study of the life of 
Christ and His disciples. 

It is a grand book, and can not be praised too highly. Its 
illustrations alone cost over six thousand dollars, and are 
strikingly beautiful. 



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Mount of Blessing 

By ELLEN G. WHITE 



A beautifully illustrated book of 218 pages, printed on fine 
enameled paper, bound in cloth with handsome cover design. 

The attractiveness of this splendid volume is, however, not con- 
fined to its make-up, for it is one of the most interesting and in- 
structive books ever written on the beatitudes. From page to page 
it is a constant unfolding of the glory of the Unseen and His love 
for a race whom He died to save. 

On the Mountainside 
The Beatitudes 
The True Motive in Service 
Not fudging But Doing 

Are some of the significant chapter headings. 



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Steps to Christ 

By ELLEN G. WHITE 



A book which will cheer many a discouraged heart. Presents 
in a simple and attractive manner the steps by which the sinner 
may be made complete hi Christ. While the book is an excellent 
guide for inquirers and young converts, it also contai?is a wealth 
of counsel a?id encouragement for those who are laboring with 
the difficulties that beset a growing experience. 

4 1 A good book to put in the hands of an unconverted friend as 
well as into the hands of a doubting church-member. God's Love 
for Man, The Sinner's Need of Christ, Repentance t Confession, 
Consecration j Faith and Acceptance, The Test of Discipleship, 
Growing up into Christ, The Work and the Life, A Knowledge 
of God, The Privilege of Prayer, What to Do with Doubt, Rejoic- 
ing in the Lord, — these are the topics, and they are well treated." 
— The Western Recorder 



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Soul-Stirring Sheet Music 



CRYSTAL AND CRIMSON is the title of a new illustrated song- by 
A. F. Ballenger, in which the story of redemption by both "water and blood" is 
told with pathos and power. Price, 30 cents. 

MY ANCHOR HOLDS is a new solo, or duet and chorus, in which the 
keeping power of God as taught in this book is told in inspiring song. Words 
by A. F. Ballenger, imisic by Nellie F. Ballenger. Price, post-paid, jo cents. 

THE PILLAR OF CLOUD IS RISING is a solo, or quartette with 
chorus, with a beautifully illustrated title page. The theme and spirit of the 
song are in striking harmony with the message of this book: "Receive Ye the Holy 
Ghost." Words by A. F. Ballenger, music by Nellie F. Ballenger. Price, 
post-paid, jo cents. 

THAT SWEET VOICE. A new illustrated song Written by A. F. Bal- 
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the actual experieyice of fallen men and women who have been saved from a 
suicide's death by the sweet voice of pardoning love. Price, post-paid, 30 cents. 

THE PRISONER, or A Mansion for a Cell, written by A. F. Ballenger, is 
a touching narration of prison experience resulting from oppressive religious 
enactments. Words are adapted to the universally loved music by Lady Carew, 
" TJie Bridge." Illustrated. Price, 23 cents. 

WHAT HAS PAPA DONE? or The Prisoner's Daughter, is a companion 
poem to " The Prisoner," and represents a child's plaintive remonstrance on 
hearing of the imprisonment of her father, for violating oppressive religious 
laws, and the mother's response. Adapted to the well-known Scotch melody, 
1 4 We'd Better Bide A wee. ' ' Illustrated. Price, 10 cents. 

AN ANGEL PASSED BY. Original solo and chorus, written and com- 
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All the proceeds of the sale of these songs is faithfully devoted 
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The Signs of the Times 



Is a paper devoted to the exposition of prophecy and the presenta- 
tion of the Gospel. The events that are passing in the world to-day 
were clearly and in plain language foretold by the prophets cen- 
turies ago. The wars, the unprecedented amassing of wealth, the 
conflicts of the laboring classes, the vices and crimes, and all the 
rest of the marked co?iditions of these times are among the things 
presented by the prophetic pen. It is most intensely interesting to 
study these prophecies. The Lord knew in the centuries of the dis- 
tant past that these days would be full of perplexing and fore- 
boding problems that would fill the minds of men with inexpressible 
dread. And so He caused His prophets to write these things out in 
those long-gone years, so that we might the more readily have con- 
fidence in Him and His inspired Word. The SIGNS OF THE 
TIMES is devoted to the presentation of these intensely interesting 
themes, and to the promulgation of the Gospel that reveals the 
Christ of God,— the Saviour that bids every one come to Him, that 
they may escape from all the evil and soul distress of this world of 
sorrow and despair. 

The SIGNS OF THE TIMES contains sixteen pages and 
is published weekly. It is neatly and appropriately illustrated, 
and its general matter, and especially the Home Department, is 
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